Reselling event tickets for profit to be outlawed

Reselling tickets for profit is to be outlawed under plans to be announced this week, the Guardian has learned, as the government goes ahead with a long-awaited crackdown on touts and resale platforms such as Viagogo and StubHub.

- Rob Davies

Ministers had been considering allowing touts - and ordinary consumers - to sell on a ticket for up to 30% above the original face value as part of a consultation process that ended this year. However, the Guardian understands that reselling a ticket at anything more than the price at which it was originally bought will be banned.

The decision, due to be announced tomorrow, comes a week after dozens of world-renowned artists - including Radiohead, Dua Lipa and Coldplay - issued an open plea to Keir Starmer to make good on Labour’s general election manifesto pledge by stopping "pernicious" touts.

Under the plan, which could form part of next year's king's speech, anyone selling a ticket will not be allowed to charge more than they paid for it.

Resale platforms will be allowed to charge fees on top of that price.

But these extras will also be limited to ensure that they can't be inflated artificially to offset profits forfeited due to the legislation.

The scale of the ceiling on service fees is yet to be determined.