Greedy touts will be banned from scooping up tickets and flogging them at inflated prices under new plans
TOUTS will be banned from hoovering up tickets and reselling them at wildly inflated prices, ministers have revealed.
The clampdown will also consider outlawing dynamic pricing which ripped off Oasis fans last summer.
They were stung as they tried to secure seats for the Gallagher brothers’ reunion by ever-rising prices as tickets became scarcer, as well as profiteering resellers.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds confirmed a cap on resale prices to stop touts scooping them up before flogging them at vastly increased rates.
He is consulting the sector and considering limiting resales to the original ticket price — although it could be as high as 30 per cent more than the original face value.
That is still much lower than the typical 50 per cent mark-up fans pay on resale sites.
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The competition watchdog found that touts fleeced fans for £350million last year through reselling 1.9 million tickets.
New legislation will also cap the number of tickets someone can buy through primary retailers to stop touts bagging loads.
Resellers will have to get a licence and breaching the rules will result in a £5,000 fine.
Curbing ticket touts was an election pledge by PM Sir Keir Starmer, revealed by The Sun.
Mr Reynolds said: “All too often big events have been dogged by consumers being taken advantage of by ticket touts.
“These unfair practices look to fleece people of their hard-earned income, which isn’t fair on fans, venues and artists.”
DJ Fatboy Slim said it was “great to see money being put back into fans’ pockets instead of resellers”.
Rip-offs will end
By Jonathan Reynolds, Business Secretary
WE’VE all been there. Counting down the days. Furiously refreshing your browser to bag your spot in the queue.
And after the stress of entering your details comes the euphoria of securing tickets to see your favourite artist or sporting final.
But too often, greedy ticket touts make the process unfair and difficult.
Today, we’ve announced action to clamp down on these touts and make buying tickets cheaper and fairer.
All options are on the table, including limits on resales and caps on resale prices to stop rip-off merchants inflating costs.
This isn’t just about cracking down – we want to make it easier to pass on tickets safely, fairly, and at a reasonable price so more people can enjoy live events without lining the pockets of profiteers.
Fans also face sudden price hikes. Dynamic pricing can mean cheaper tickets but often lack transparency, leaving fans confused and paying inflated costs.
The bottom line? Ticket-buying should be simple, fair, and affordable.