The government is set to ban gig ticket scalping in a major law change. MPs are expected to announce plans to block touts who buy up tickets for major events and resell them for several times their original sale price.
The Labour manifesto promised stronger protections to stop consumers being scammed or priced out of events by touts, who frequently use bots to buy tickets in bulk the moment they go on sale, which they can then sell on for huge mark-ups on secondary ticketing websites.
But reports in the Guardian and Financial Times suggest ministers are now pushing to to set the limit at the face value, although fees could still be charged on top of that price.
The move, which could be announced on Wednesday, follows a petition and campaign by some of the biggest names in music calling for an end to ticket scalping.
Coldplay, Dua Lipa and Radiohead were last week among artists urging the Government to honour the pledge to cap resale prices.
The Cure’s Robert Smith, New Order, Mark Knopfler, Iron Maiden, PJ Harvey and Mercury Prize-winner Sam Fender joined them in signing a statement calling for a cap to “restore faith in the ticketing system” and “help democratise public access to the arts”.
Other signatories included the watchdog Which?, FanFair Alliance, O2, the Football Supporters’ Association and organisations representing the music and theatre industries, venues, managers and ticket retailers.
Ticketmaster’s parent company Live Nation Entertainment said it supported the change.
In a statement the firm said: “Live Nation fully supports the UK Government’s plan to ban ticket resale above face value.
“Ticketmaster already limits all resale in the UK to face value prices and this is another major step forward for fans, cracking down on exploitative touting to help keep live events accessible. We encourage others around the world to adopt similar fan-first policies.”
But resale firm StubHub warned the move could fuel the black market in tickets.
A spokesman for StubHub International said: “The Government’s intention to implement a price cap on the resale of live event tickets will condemn fans to take risks to see their favourite live events.
“With a price cap on regulated marketplaces, ticket transactions will move to black markets.
“When a regulated market becomes a black market, only bad things happen for consumers. Fraud, fear and zero recourse.”
