Ticket Touts Beware - Can UK’s Watered-Down Legislation Stop Ridiculous Match Prices?
With organised crime taking over ticket touting in much of the UK, the Labour government's legislation may struggle to make a difference.
The UK’s ticket touting woes reached new heights in 2024. Tickets for the England vs. Spain Euro 2024 final were being sold at markups of over 2,400%. The cheapest seats, initially sold for £85 were flogged for £4,400 and the most expensive seats were being resold for as high as £40,000 apiece.
While the country’s Labour government promised action, certain clubs refused to wait. Liverpool FC took the lead. During the 2023-24 season, it closed down close to 100,000 fake ticketing accounts, issued dozens of lifetime bans, and extended support to fans who had bought tickets at inflated prices or simply been scammed. The club’s investigation that scams around Anfield tickets had become so lucrative as to attract organised crime, forcing Liverpool’s anti-touting staff to keep their identities secret, according to an investigation by The Athletic.
On January 10, Prime Minister Keir Starmer made good on his pre-election pledge, and introduced a long-awaited consultation plan to cap ticket resale prices at 30% above face value.
However, the policy may already have been diluted: the government’s initial considerations, unveiled in 2024, had spoken of a stricter 10% cap. Ticket reselling companies, such as Stubhub and Viagogo, responded quickly.
A lobbying group, calling itself the Coalition for Ticket Fairness, fought back. Online resellers, street-corner touts, convicted frausdsters, it represented a who’s who of the British touting landscape, The Guardian found.
“If Labour wins the election, bottom line is, we’re all fucked,” one speaker said.
Will the legislation really stop touting?
The UK now enters treacherous waters. Around the globe, governments have promised sweeping reforms to hold ticket touts accountable, only to fall short due to enforcement gaps, loopholes, and resistance from vested interests.
There are several issues that this legislation, in its current form, may struggle to stop.
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