Reselling tickets above face value set to be banned by government

The resale of tickets to live events for profit will be banned by the government.

Ministers are expected to announce the plan to combat promotional and resale sites offering tickets at several times face value.

Restricting ticket sales was one of them. Labor government’s election promisesFans complained that the prices of resale tickets for music and sporting events were excessively high.

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

The move, which could be announced on Wednesday, follows an open letter from some of the biggest names in music.

Music stars to the prime ministerusurper and harmful“ Websites that exploit fans.

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

According to analysis by the Competition and Markets Authority, tickets currently sold on the resale market are often overpriced 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, Which?’s director of policy and advocacy, said it was “great news for music and sports fans,” adding that the plan would “rein in professional touting and return tickets to true fans.”

He called on the government to “demonstrate that price caps are a priority by including the necessary legislation in the King’s Speech”.

Ticketmaster parent company Live Nation Entertainment said it was already limiting resales in the UK to value prices and described the reported plan as “another huge step forward for fans”.

Resale sites such as Viagogo and Stubhub have previously claimed price caps could push customers to unregulated sites and social media, increasing their risk of fraud.

Tom Kiehl, chief executive of UK Music, a collective body representing the industry’s interests, said there should now be a cap on secondary ticket prices to protect fans from “exorbitant” prices.

“The music industry’s contribution to the economy is worth £8bn and is based on the strong relationship between music fans and artists,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today program on Tuesday.

“And what you have now is a resale market that is not working.”

Housing minister Steve Reed said it was “a hugely important issue” that BBC Breakfast was making profits at the expense of fans because it was “causing huge harm to individuals who have to turn their noses up for tickets”.

He stressed that the government was “determined to outlaw this”.