We probably all remember the debacle related to the sale of tickets for the Oasis concert last summer. However, it's not just direct sales of event tickets or dynamic pricing that can cause problems, and secondary ticketing has been a subject of some debate for a while now. Back in 2021, the CMA asked the government to introduce new rules, but the then government refused, saying that there were other areas of consumer detriment which needed more attention. When the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 was passing through the parliamentary process, attempts were made to include provisions about secondary ticketing, but the previous government refused.
The Labour party said in its manifesto that it would consider the issue, and the Labour government has now launched a consultation aiming to improve its understanding about ongoing problems in the ticket resale market and to seek views on potential proposals aimed at improving fairness for fans. It is also running a call for evidence on pricing practices in the live events sector.
The consultation is about proposals such as limits on resale prices, accountability requirements for resale platforms, updates to consumer protections and industry-led actions to ensure fair and accessible resale practices. A well-functioning resale market can allow fans who genuinely cannot attend an event to resell their tickets to other fans without driving up costs unnecessarily or creating additional barriers to access. However, the government says that industrial scale touting is skewing the market, with none of their profits going back to the live events sector or the local economy.
The government proposes to:
- make it illegal for (a) tickets to be resold at more than the original price or a certain percentage above the original price and (b) tickets to be sold in excess of the number that any one individual is entitled to purchase under the terms of the original sale;
- increase the accountability of secondary ticketing platforms for tickets sold via their websites;
- enhance enforcement, ensuring there is a strong deterrent against ticket touting and that unlawful behaviour is penalised; and
- improve safeguards applied by the primary market to protect access for fans when tickets are originally sold.
Secondly, the call for evidence focuses on understanding how the live events sector operates in distributing tickets and whether consumers are being impaired by a lack of transparency particularly as it relates to pricing practices like algorithmic dynamic pricing. The government is particularly interested in:
- how the ticket pricing system in the live events market works in the UK, for consumers and businesses;
- if and how consumers have been affected by a lack of transparency in this area;
- if developments in pricing in the live events sector, such as new business models; and technologies, are creating new risks for consumers or gaps in the consumer protection framework.
The events sector, among others, will be coming up to speed with the new rules about drip pricing in the DMCC Act, and it looks like there may be new rules on the way. If you would like to have your say, the consultation and call for evidence close on 4 April 2025.
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