Reselling tickets above face value set to be banned by government

Reselling tickets to live events for a profit is set to be banned by the government.

Ministers are expected to announce the plan in a bid to tackle touts and resale sites which offer tickets at several times’ face value.

Restricting ticket touts was one of the Labour government’s election pledges, as fans complained of massively inflated prices for resale tickets for music and sporting events.

The decision comes a week after dozens of artists including Sam Fender, Dua Lipa and Coldplay urged Sir Keir Starmer to protect fans from exploitation.

The move, which could be announced on Wednesday, comes after the open letter by some of the biggest names in music.

The music stars urged the prime minister to stop the “extortionate and pernicious” websites that exploit fans.

Other signatories included consumer watchdog Which? the Football Supporters’ Association and groups representing the music and theatre industries, venues, and ticket retailers.

According to analysis by the Competition and Markets Authority, tickets currently sold on the resale market are typically marked up by more than 50%.

Investigations by Trading Standards have previously uncovered evidence of tickets being resold for up to six times their original cost.

Rocio Concha, director of policy and advocacy at Which?, said it was “great news for music and sports fans”, adding the plan would “rein in professional touts and put tickets back in the hands of real fans”.

She urged the government to “show that the price cap is a priority by including the necessary legislation in the King’s Speech”.

Ticketmaster’s parent company Live Nation Entertainment said it already limits resale in the UK to face value prices and described the reported plan as “another major step forward for fans”.

Resale sites like Viagogo and Stubhub have previously claimed that a price cap could push customers towards unregulated sites and social media, putting them at increased risk of fraud.

Tom Kiehl, chief executive of UK Music, a collective body that represents the interests of the industry, said that a cap on secondary ticket prices was now needed in order to protect fans from “exorbitant” prices.

“The music industry itself is worth £8 billion to the economy, and relies on that strong relationship between music fans and and the artist,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Tuesday.

“And what you have at the moment is the resale market, which isn’t working.”

Housing secretary Steve Reed told BBC Breakfast touts making profits at the expense of fans was “such an important issue” as it was “hugely damaging to individuals having to pay through the nose for tickets”.

He stressed the government is “committed to outlawing it”.