THE GOVERNMENT will ban the resale of tickets for music concerts, shows and sporting events at inflated prices, aiming to curb ticket touts who use technology to secure tickets for high-demand events, it said on Tuesday.
Housing secretary Steve Reed said "ticket touting" — where people buy tickets to resell them at multiples of their face value — was causing significant financial impact on individuals. He said people were having to pay "through the nose" to attend.
Shares in US company StubHub, which owns the resale site Viagogo, fell 14 per cent on Monday after reports that the government would proceed with a ban.
BOTS SNAP UP TICKETS
"We are committed to ending the scandal of ticket touts," Reed told BBC News on Tuesday. He said the plans would be outlined by ministers in the coming days.
Tickets for tours by artists such as Taylor Swift, Oasis and Radiohead appear on resale sites at much higher prices minutes after selling out. Touts use "bots" to move ahead of online queues.
Radiohead’s upcoming London tour is among the highest priced on resale platforms. Standing tickets for its show on Friday, originally priced at 85 pounds, were listed on Viagogo from 682 pounds on Tuesday.
The group, along with artists including Coldplay and Dua Lipa, signed an open letter published by consumer group Which?, urging the government to act on its commitment to tackle touting.
Viagogo said that verification processes for tickets would be a more effective measure to stop illegal bot activity.
"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," a Viagogo spokesperson said.
"Opening the market to greater competition also helps drive prices down, benefiting fans."
The government had been considering a cap of up to 30 per cent above face value for ticket resale. However, the Guardian reported that reselling tickets above face value would be banned, and that there would also be a cap on fees charged by resale platforms.
Separately on Tuesday, Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority said it had opened investigations into pricing practices on several online platforms, including StubHub — which is separate from the US-listed company — and Viagogo.
(With inputs from Reuters)
