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<p>HM Government is committed to supporting fair and transparent ticket pricing and
tackling unacceptable behaviour in this market.</p><p>We have strengthened the law
in relation to ticketing information requirements and have introduced a criminal offence
of using automated software to buy more tickets online than is allowed. We also support
the work of enforcement agencies in this area, such as the Competition and Markets
Authority, National Trading Standards, and the advertising industry's own regulator
the Advertising Standards Authority.</p><p>We believe there is a role for a responsible
secondary ticketing market, and ultimately, ticket pricing strategies are a matter
for event organisers and ticketing platforms, providing they comply with relevant
legislation, particularly regarding transparency to customers on how tickets are priced,
in order to help consumers make a fair and informed decision.</p><p>Policy on secondary
ticketing is jointly owned within Government by the Department for Culture, Media
and Sport (DCMS) and the Department for Business & Trade (DBT). DBT has lead responsibility
for policy on consumer protection and its enforcement, in partnership with National
Trading Standards and the Competition and Markets Authority, whilst DCMS leads on
the specific area of secondary ticketing for DCMS-related events (sport, live music,
theatre, etc.).</p><p>Our joint overarching policy aim has been to address abuses
in the ticketing market and improve consumers’ opportunities to buy tickets for recreational,
sporting, and cultural events, whilst ensuring there are no unintentional consequences
for the operations of the events sector and primary and secondary ticketing market.</p><p>Our
policy aims are delivered through a mixture of targeted legislation (primarily the
Consumer Rights Act 2015), backed up by robust action by enforcement agencies, and
encouraging industry-led approaches, largely through the exploitation of technological
developments (e.g. use of blockchain and ‘ticketless tickets’ on mobiles). Our approach
is underpinned by the findings of an independent review of consumer protection measures
in the market, undertaken by Professor Michael Waterson, published in May 2016.</p><p>Professor
Waterson specifically considered the idea of banning the secondary ticketing market
entirely. His conclusions, with which we agreed in our response to the review, are
that:</p><p>i) a ban would not lead to the absence of secondary ticketing, but would
simply drive it underground/offshore, with implications for raised levels of fraud;</p><p>ii)
several primary operators have chosen to link up with secondary agencies suggesting
their implicit approval of such activities;</p><p>iii) a significant proportion of
tickets on secondary sites are priced below face value, offering a useful service
to consumers and allowing more people to attend the event.</p>
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