UK Government to Ban Ticket Resale Above Face Value

The UK government will move to ban the resale of live event tickets above face value, according to reporting by the BBC. Ministers are expected to announce the plan on Wednesday as part of a wider effort to limit ticket touting across music, theatre, comedy, and sports.

The policy fulfills an election pledge by the Labour government following years of complaints from fans about inflated resale prices. The BBC reports that the decision comes one week after dozens of artists, including Sam Fender, Dua Lipa, and Coldplay, urged Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to protect fans from what they described as profiteering at their expense.

A government consultation had previously considered allowing resales up to 30 percent above face value, but the BBC notes that ministers will instead set the cap at the original cost of the ticket. The government also plans to limit additional fees to prevent the cap from being bypassed.

Analysis from the Competition and Markets Authority found that resale tickets are typically marked up by more than 50 percent. Trading Standards investigations have also uncovered instances of tickets being resold for up to six times their face value.

Ahead of the announcement, Live Nation Entertainment, parent company of Ticketmaster, said it already limits resale in the UK to face value pricing and described the reported plan as a major step forward for fans.