Government to Ban Reselling Tickets Above Face Value

The government is going to ban the resale of live event tickets for profit.

sarah

Nov 18, 2025 - 22:37

Government to Ban Reselling Tickets Above Face Value

Ministers will announce plans on Wednesday to crack down on brokers and resale sites, which often sell music, theatre, comedy, and sports tickets at prices far above face value.

Banning ticket brokers was one of the Labour government's election promises, after fans complained about the inflated prices of resale tickets.

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.

A consultation on these changes had previously considered capping ticket prices at up to 30% above face value.

But the government has decided to cap the original cost, or face value, and has also promised to take measures to limit additional fees to prevent prices from falling below face value.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) will announce its intention to eliminate ticket touting on an industrial scale, making resale tickets £37 cheaper on average, saving fans a collective £112 million per year.

Resale platforms will be legally obliged to monitor and enforce the new rules.

Professional brokers

This move follows an open letter written by some of the biggest names in music.

Music stars urged the Prime Minister to shut down "extortionate and harmful" 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 inflated by more than 50%.

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

Rosio Concha, Director of Policy and Advocacy at Which?, said the change was "great news for music and sports fans," adding that the scheme would "rein in professional brokers and get tickets back into the hands of real fans."

She urged the government to "include the necessary legislation in the King's Speech to demonstrate that price caps are a priority."

'Exorbitant' Prices

Before the announcement, Ticketmaster's parent company, Live Nation Entertainment, stated that it had already limited resales in the UK to face value and called the alleged scheme "another major step forward for fans."

Resale sites like Viagogo and StubHub had previously claimed that price caps could drive customers to unregulated sites and social media, increasing the risk of fraud.

But UK Music chief executive Tom Kiehl said capping secondary ticket prices was necessary to protect both the industry and fans from "exorbitant" prices.