Ticket tout bill branded as ‘not enough’ as Labour confirms crackdown
After months of pressure from the music industry and furious fans, Labour has confirmed plans for a sweeping crackdown on ticket touting as part of Wednesday’s King’s Speech. But reforms may still be years away from becoming law.
The draft Ticket Tout Ban Bill would make it illegal to resell tickets for live events above face value and cap the fees charged by resale platforms.
Sellers will also be unable to list more tickets than they were initially allowed to buy under the new reform.
The government said the measures could save fans up to £112m a year and reduce average resale prices by £37.
The resale market prompted mounting outrage last year after Oasis reunion tickets appeared online for thousands of pounds within hours of release, exposing what ministers described as the “industrial scale” nature of modern ticket touting.
The new law also means the CMA will gain powers to issue fines worth up to ten per cent of global turnover to companies breaching the rules – piling pressure on secondary platforms like Viagogo and Stubhub.
Ticket scams persist
The publication of the bill in draft form, however, has drawn criticism from parts of the live events industry, which had pushed for immediate legislation.
Jon Collins, chief executive of industry body LIVE, said that a draft bill was “not enough”, warning that fans had already waited too long for reforms to the resale market.
“A draft bill is not enough. Live music is nothing without the millions of fans who pack out venues and festivals across the country every week,” Collins said.
“Fans have waited long enough. There is no need for further consultation – the evidence and support for action are already overwhelming. The government must now move forward with the legislation as quickly as possible and not lose sight of why it is being introduced, which is to end the ticket touting scandal and protect fans.”
The government said the legislation is intended to tackle industrial-scale touting while still allowing genuine fans to resell tickets safely if they can no longer attend events.
The proposals also come amid rising concerns over ticket fraud.
Lloyds previously estimated that more than 90 per cent of reported scams linked to Oasis tickets originated on Meta-owned platforms, while Action Fraud said ticket fraud losses rose to £9.7m last year.
Secondary ticketing platforms have argued that price caps could push consumers towards unregulated resale channels and increase fraud risks.
Matt Drew, head of international business development at Viagogo, previously told City PM that caps in other markets had coincided with higher levels of fraudulent activity and warned the proposals could have unintended consequences.