Lisa Nandy, British Culture Secretary said to RTE that "ticket touts have been exploiting fans by using bots to buy up large numbers of tickets for high-demand shows and then relisting them at inflated prices."
It will soon be illegal in the UK to resell a ticket above it's face value, which is defined as the original price of the ticket and any unavoidable extra costs at the time of purchase. Service fees will also be capped to ensure that companies cannot get around the new rules by adding extra costs when purchasing tickets.
The ban covers all secondary ticketing websites and social media. Those who break these regulations could face penalties of up to 10% of their global turnover.
Business Department minister Kate Dearden told the Guardian that the decision to ban the resale of tickets is a "no brainer", given the intense pressure from the cost of living. “We all know someone who’s been ripped off,” she said.
Last week saw artists such as Coldplay and Dua Lipa sign a letter to Keir Starmer urging him to honour his pledge to tackle “extortionate and pernicious” websites used by ticket touts. 38 artists in total signed the letter including Iron Maiden, Johnny Marr, Robert Smith of The Cure, Sam Fender, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, PJ Harvey, and Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason.
The UK governments consultation cited Ireland as a country that already restricts resale prices, as they considered how far they will go to stop ticket touting.
In Ireland, the Sale of Tickets Act 2021 prohibts the resale of tickets above face value for events that fall under the scope of the law. According to RTE, this act usually includes larger venues and events in high demand where the inflation of ticket prices is a known risk. Breaches can lead to fines up to "€100,000 or a prison term of up to two years."
