Dua Lipa performs in concert as part of her “Radical Optimism Tour” at Estadio Mas Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on November 8, 2025.
Thomas Cuesta | Getty Images
The UK government will on Wednesday ban the resale of live event tickets above face value. According to multiple reports in the UK, the measures target concerts, major sports and theater.
The move was not surprising, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labor party had previously cited resale price gouging as a key consumer protection issue and signaled support for a crackdown on ticket trading.
Dozens of artists, including Sam Fender, Dua Lipa and Coldplay, signed a recent open letter calling on Starmer to move forward with his promise and cap ticket resale prices.
Housing Secretary Steve Reid told BBC Breakfast the government was “committed to decriminalization”.
The new law will include platform fee caps and price limits to avoid workarounds that use new methods to artificially inflate prices. The UK government’s inquiry, which began in early 2025, had considered capping the resale price of tickets by up to 30% above the original price, but it is now expected to pursue stricter measures.
According to reports, the UK government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport estimates that the move could reduce the average resale price of tickets by up to $48.
ticket reseller stub hub Shares fell nearly 6% on Tuesday following reports of an impending ban. The company’s stock price has fallen 37% over the past week after it did not provide guidance in last week’s earnings release.
shares of live nation entertainmentThe company, which owns Ticketmaster, fell on Tuesday but closed in line with the broader market decline. Live Nation released a statement ahead of the expected UK ban, saying it “fully supports the UK government’s plans” and noting that it already limits all resales in the UK to face value. “This is another major step forward for fans as we crack down on exploitative touts to maintain access to live events. We encourage other countries around the world to adopt similar Fans First policies.”
The move comes as U.S. regulators are scrutinizing bot-based ticket collection, with several investigations focusing on fraudulent fee structures and inflated resale prices. In the case of Taylor Swift’s Ellas Tour, the average resale ticket price exceeded $1,000.
Swift’s producer and fellow musician Jack Antonoff recently criticized Live Nation CEO Michael Rapinoe for saying at a CNBC event that concert ticket prices are too low.
“The answer is simple: It should be illegal to sell tickets above face value,” he wrote.
The Federal Trade Commission sued Live Nation and Ticketmaster in September, alleging illegal ticket reselling practices. Last year, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit to break up Live Nation and Ticketmaster on antitrust charges, accusing them of having too much of a monopoly on the ticket sales industry, a move that followed widespread complaints from fans over the failure to sell tickets for Swift’s Ellas tour.
There is growing pressure to increase transparency in ticket markets across live music, sports and big tours.
