Ticket touts to face fines for using bots

Image: Rapid Scan

With reports of concerts selling out in mere minutes, only for tickets to then appear secondary ticketing sites for an inflated price, more and more music fans are missing out on the opportunity to see their favourite artists live. 

Recently, after completely selling out, tickets for an Ed Sheeran charity gig were being sold for up to £5,000 (read about that here), and £85 seats to see Adele were being raised to an obscene £24,840. Touts make it harder for fans to get to the shows they should be at, the main reason we started Re:Sell last year, and it's something we've been actively against ever since we started selling tickets. 

Now the government have revealed that touts who are found to be using bots to buy bulk tickets will face an unlimited fine, amending the Digital Economy Bill to make it illegal. It comes after the Waterson report in May 2016, a government enquiry into the practices of secondary ticketing, revealed in part the extent of what was going on, as well as work by the likes of the Fanfair Alliance to attack touting.

It also proves that the government's tough-talking of recent times will be supported by action. Culture minister Matt Hancock talks about the scheme: 

"This profiteering is simply not fair, so we are acting to put fans first and improve the chances of seeing our favourite musicians and sports stars at a reasonable price. Ticket sellers also need to do more, by improving transparency and ensuring that they are acting in the best interests of consumers and help the market work for everyone."

Great news, we hope that this new legislation helps in stopping touts in buying bulk tickets and allows music fans everywhere a greater opportunity to be brought closer to the music they love. 

Read more about what Skiddle does to combat touting.