UK government plan 30% price cap on resold tickets

Ticket touting came under major scrutiny in the UK after fast sell-out events for artists such as Coldplay and Taylor Swift saw tickets resold on secondary market sites for hugely inflated prices.

Eras Tour tickets for Taylor Swift were quickly snapped up when they went on sale ahead of last summer’s UK dates only for many of the tickets to instantly reappear on resale sites for thousands of pounds.

A public consultation by the UK government will determine the best way to tackle this issue. A price cap is likely to be added for resale tickets, ranging from the face value to 30% over the original price.

Currently, the average ticket sold on secondary markets is sold for over 50% more than the original price, according to analysis by the Competition and Market Authority,(CMA) the UK's competition regulator.

There will also be a limit on the number of tickets a reseller can sell, likely set to the maximum number allowed to be purchased at one time by the original vendor. This is intended to stop touts purchasing tickets en masse to then resell, even at a lower inflated price.

The government has also announced that it has opened a call for evidence on dynamic pricing, following the scandal around the first release of 2025 Oasis tickets last summer.

Due to dynamic pricing, many of the Oasis tickets with a face value of £150 (€180) were sold for more than £350 (€420) through the official vendor.

Both the CMA and Ireland’s Competition and Consumer Protection Commission have opened investigations into the way Oasis used dynamic pricing.

“We are taking action to strengthen consumer protections, stop fans getting ripped off and ensure money spent on tickets goes back into our incredible live events sector, instead of into the pockets of greedy touts,” UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told the press.

Oasis’s upcoming tour has also tried to tackle ticket touts. Having warned fans that tickets could only be resold through their official partner Twickets, Ticketmaster parent company LiveNation has confirmed they will cancel more than 50,000 tickets sold through unofficial secondary sites.

According to the BBC, some of the tickets listed on these secondary sites for the upcoming Oasis tour were being sold for as much as £119,000 (€143,000).

Of the government consultation, one of the main ticket reseller sites Viagogo has said that it will “look forward to responding in full to the consultation and call for evidence on improving consumer protections in the ticketing market”.