UK Gov. To Act Against Secondary Ticketing Sites

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced plans to take enforcement action against secondary ticketing websites suspected of breaking consumer protection laws.  

AP Photo / Eric Gay –

The announcement follows a secondary ticketing investigation launched in 2015, when four secondary ticketing sites – Get Me In!, Seatwave, StubHub and Viagogo – formally promised they would improve the information given to customers of their respective offerings.

Last year’s compliance check revealed that most websites had kept their promise, bar one – the name of which wasn’t revealed to Pollstar as the investigation is ongoing.

CMA only said, it “will be acting to address a failure by one website to comply fully with formal commitments it had previously given to improve the information provided about tickets advertised on its site.”

While CMA notes that some sites have made changes since opening the investigation, it wants to ensure customers know exactly what kind of tickets they are buying. This includes making it clear to customers if there are restrictions on using a resold ticket that could result in buyers being denied access to an event. Sellers need to be transparent about whether they’re operating as a business or an event promoter.

“People should know whom they are buying from (…) and can benefit from their legal rights,” the CMA states, adding that “customers need to be told where exactly in a venue they will be seated.”

CMA also announced that it broadened the scope of its original investigation to include pressure selling, i.e. rushing customers into buying decisions, difficulties for customers in getting their money back under a website’s guarantee, spec selling, i.e. advertising tickets not yet owned by the seller, as well as “concerns about whether the organizers of some sporting events have sold tickets as a primary seller directly through a secondary ticket website, without making this clear to consumers.”

CMA chief executive Andrea Coscelli said: “We will use the full range of our powers to get the right outcome for these sites’ customers – including taking action through the courts if needed.”

The UK’s FanFair Alliance, which has submitted evidence during the CMA investigation, commented: “It is has taken far too long to get here, but a Sword of Damocles now hangs over the entire secondary market. If they fail to deliver root-and-branch reforms, we expect the largest resale platforms to face significant consequences.”

The walls seem to be closing in on secondary ticketing businesses operating in a non-transparent way. Recently Google announced its own requirements for ticket resellers that want to advertise through Google AdWords.