LONDON (Reuters) -Britain is set to ban the resale of tickets for live events such as music concerts, shows and sports at inflated prices, tackling the scourge of ticket touts who use technology to snap up tickets for popular events, the government said on Tuesday.
Housing minister Steve Reed said the practice of “ticket touting” – people buying tickets to sell them on at multiples of their face value – was hugely damaging for individuals who had to pay “through the nose” to attend events.
Shares in U.S company StubHub, the owner of resale site Viagogo, fell 14% on Monday after the reports that the Labour government would go ahead with ban.
“We are committed to ending the scandal of ticket touts,” Reed told BBC News on Tuesday, adding that its plans would be set out by ministers in the coming days.
Tickets for shows such as rock band Oasis’ tour this summer are often offered on resale sites for hugely inflated prices minutes after they sell out.
The government had been considering setting a cap of up to 30% of the face value for the resale of tickets in a consultation earlier this year.
However, a report in the Guardian said the resale of tickets above face value would be banned. The newspaper also said there would be a cap on the fees that resale platforms could charge.
Separately on Tuesday, Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority said it had opened investigations into the pricing practices of a number of online platforms, including StubHub, which is separate from the U.S.-listed company, and Viagogo.
(Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Sarah Young)
