Max HeyraudThe UK government is preparing to outlaw the resale of tickets above face value, marking its most aggressive move yet against secondary ticketing platforms such as Viagogo and StubHub.
Due to be formally announced on Wednesday, the legislation will make it illegal for anyone, professional touts or everyday fans, to sell a ticket for more than they originally paid. Platforms will still be allowed to charge service fees, but those fees will be capped to prevent hidden markups.
The rules will extend across the ecosystem: resale sites, social media platforms and individual sellers. Under the legislation, sellers will also be barred from listing more tickets than they could realistically have purchased from the original box office. Any platform hosting illegal listings will be held directly liable by the Competition and Markets Authority.
The decision comes after months of pressure from musicians who have denounced the “pernicious” growth of professional trading networks, including Radiohead, Dua Lipa, Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, and Oasis. According to investigations, UK-based touts engage in a practice known as speculative selling, whereby they list hundreds of tickets at exorbitant prices, sometimes without even owning the tickets.
Consumer organisation Which? has documented resale listings reaching absurd levels in recent months, including Oasis tickets hitting more than £4,000 and a festival ticket for London’s All Points East appearing on Viagogo for over £114,000.
Secondary ticketing firms have pushed back hard. StubHub International warned that the cap will “push transactions to black markets,” while Viagogo argued that countries with similar restrictions have seen higher rates of fraud. The government has not publicly commented on the proposals.
If passed, the legislation would replace the UK’s current 30-per-cent resale cap introduced earlier this year. It could dramatically reshape the resale economy—and potentially force major platforms to reconsider their UK operations.
Face-value resale options, such as Twickets and Ticketmaster’s own fan exchange, are expected to play a larger role if the ban takes effect.
