The UK government has ignited a fierce debate in the live events world with its formal announcement on November 19, 2025, to ban for-profit ticket touting—a move that aims to make events more affordable and accessible for fans but has drawn both celebration and skepticism from across the industry. The new legislation, once enacted, will make it illegal to resell tickets above their original purchase price plus unavoidable fees, a definition that includes service charges and other mandatory costs. While platforms facilitating ticket resale can still charge additional fees, these too will be capped to prevent loopholes that could undermine the price limit.
Under the new rules, any platform reselling tickets to UK fans—including secondary ticketing sites like Viagogo and StubHub, as well as social media platforms—will have a legal duty to monitor and enforce compliance with the price cap. Individuals will be prohibited from reselling more tickets than they were entitled to purchase initially, closing off a common route for large-scale touting. The government, citing analysis by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), points out that typical mark-ups on secondary market tickets exceed 50%, with some tickets being resold for up to six times their original cost. The hope is that the crackdown could save fans around £112 million ($147 million) each year, with 900,000 more tickets bought directly from primary sellers and the average resale ticket price dropping by £37 ($49).
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, in announcing the plans, declared, "We are putting fans first. It's time to shut down the touts’ racket and make world-class music, comedy, theatre, and sport affordable for everyone." She emphasized that for too long, ticket touts "have ripped off fans, using bots to snap up batches of tickets and resell them at sky-high prices." The government’s plan allows genuine fans who can no longer attend an event to resell their tickets at face value, but bars commercial touts from profiting off the resale market. Violators could face financial penalties of up to 10% of global turnover, enforced by the CMA under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers (DMCC) Act 2024.
The announcement has been met with a chorus of approval from many corners of the music and live events industry. Artists, managers, and industry groups—some of whom have campaigned for nearly two decades for tighter regulation—welcomed the move as a long-overdue step toward fairness. Phil Harvey, manager of Coldplay, called the legislation "a game-changer that will transform fans’ experience of buying concert tickets," provided it is implemented swiftly. The band Alt-J echoed this sentiment, noting, "Although we’re pleased the Government has listened to this collective call, it is now imperative that they put these measures into place as quickly as possible."
Members of Mumford & Sons—Ben Lovett, Marcus Mumford, and Ted Dwane—added, "Touts and scalpers have run amok and taken advantage of the good will and passion of music fans for many years. This regulation will curb the predatory behavior of these bad actors... whilst preserving the ability for fans to resell if plans change. It’s going to have a major positive impact, especially on the affordability of getting to see your favourite gigs." Stuart Camp, Ed Sheeran’s manager, said, "For anyone who cares about music fans and ticket prices, today’s announcement is long overdue. We’ve seen first-hand the positive impact of price caps elsewhere in the world, and these proposals have the potential to transform the UK’s live music sector and protect audiences from exploitation."
Industry organizations have joined in. Tom Kiehl, Chief Executive of UK Music, stated, "For too long, touts have been ripping off music fans with extortionate prices that hit both music lovers and our world-leading sector." Annabella Coldrick, Chief Executive of the Music Managers Forum, described the announcement as "hugely satisfying," highlighting the broad consensus among artists, companies, consumer groups, and regulators on the urgent need for a price cap. Adam Webb, Campaign Manager for the FanFair Alliance, noted, "It’s taken years of FanFair campaigning to get to this point, but... the Government now has a clear and pragmatic plan in place to tackle the scourge of exploitative online ticket touting."
However, not everyone is convinced that price caps are the answer. Opponents, including Viagogo and Get Safe Online, have raised alarms about potential unintended consequences—chief among them, a surge in ticket fraud as buyers are pushed onto unregulated platforms like social media and online forums. Viagogo’s spokesperson argued, "Evidence shows price caps have repeatedly failed fans. In countries like Ireland and Australia, fraud rates are nearly four times higher than in the UK as price caps push consumers towards unregulated sites." Tony Neate, CEO of Get Safe Online, added, "Capping resale prices would strip away vital protections and push fans toward scammers. Social media is already rife with ticket scams... Forcing fans onto these channels could cost consumers £280 million a year."
Academics and industry analysts have also weighed in. Professor Rob Wilson of the University Campus of Football Business cautioned, "Price caps don’t solve the core issue of demand; they simply drive it underground, creating a vacuum that fraudsters are quick to exploit." He cited research indicating that ticket fraud in jurisdictions with resale price caps, such as Victoria, Australia and Ireland, is nearly four times higher than in the UK. Dr. Nicola Harding, a criminologist, warned, "Where caps exist, fraud soars... Caps push sales onto unregulated social platforms, fuelling scams and leaving fans unprotected." Both argue for alternative solutions, such as open ticketing and enhanced digital verification, rather than outright price caps.
Supporters of the new law, however, dispute these claims. Adam Webb of FanFair Alliance dismissed the fraud surge argument as "scaremongering," stating, "FanFair has spoken in detail to the biggest Irish banks, who tell us that the price cap introduced in 2021 did not promote an increase in online fraud. Similarly, we have spoken to Australian consumer groups. They tell us the same about the price caps introduced in Victoria and New South Wales." Webb also highlighted that social media fraud occurs regardless of price caps, and that banks and authorities already issue warnings to consumers during major ticket sales.
Platforms like Tixel and Live Nation have also lent support, with Tixel’s UK/EU Director Matt Kaplan stating, "The fear mongering around fair resale policies fueling fraud is just that—fear mongering. Price caps do not create fraud. Poor enforcement and unregulated marketplaces do." Live Nation, which owns Ticketmaster, said, "Ticketmaster already limits all resale in the UK to face value prices, and this is another major step forward for fans—cracking down on exploitative touting to help keep live events accessible."
Amid the policy debate, practical questions remain. There is uncertainty about exemptions, such as for debenture seat sales at Wimbledon, which help finance the tournament. The government has indicated that some exceptions may apply, but the details are yet to be finalized. The new rules will be introduced into legislation "when parliamentary time allows," and Viagogo’s spokesperson emphasized that "this is part of a long, multi-year process, not a final outcome."
As Parliament prepares to debate the proposals in the coming year, the stakes are high for fans, artists, and the industry at large. The outcome could reshape the ticketing landscape in the UK, promising fairer prices for many, but also raising challenging questions about enforcement, market dynamics, and consumer protection in a digital age.
