The UK government has already set the level of its ticket resale cap: no mark-up over the original cost, and that cost includes unavoidable fees and delivery charges. Still blank is the figure that determines whether the cap holds: the limit on resale platforms' commissions.
What has happened
The decision is set out in the government's response to the consultation on ticket resale, published on 19 November 2025 by the Department for Business and Trade and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The consultation ran from 10 January to 4 April 2025 and received 416 unique, usable responses, 308 of them from consumers and fans.
The government will introduce «a price cap that makes it unlawful to resell live events tickets for a profit». It spells out the level with no room for interpretation: the cap won't allow «any mark-up [...] over and above the original cost of the ticket (inclusive of unavoidable fees and delivery charges)». Zero mark-up, and the reference floor isn't the face value: it's what the buyer paid, with unavoidable fees and delivery charges included.
There will also be a cap on platforms' service fees, so an inflated commission can't be used as a workaround. The document admits it will need to be high enough for compliant platforms to operate sustainably, and leaves the figure for later: «We will continue to gather evidence on what the most suitable level is for the fee cap [...] before setting out the detail of our approach when we bring forward legislation».
| Measure | Status | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Resale price cap | Decided | Zero mark-up over the original cost, including unavoidable fees and delivery |
| Platform commission cap | Pending | Not set; to be detailed with the legislation |
| Volume per reseller | Decided | No more tickets than the reseller was entitled to buy originally |
| Platform licensing | Shelved for now | Will be reviewed if the consumer regime fails |
| Penalties | Decided | Up to 10% of global turnover, via the DMCCA |
Platforms will face «strict legal obligations» to ensure compliance, and enforcement will run through the consumer regime of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, which gives the Competition and Markets Authority fast-track powers to act directly against certain breaches. Date: none. It will legislate «when parliamentary time allows».
On 13 May 2026, the King's Speech background briefing notes listed a «Draft Ticket Tout Ban Bill» on pages 64 and 65: the same measures, to be published in draft for pre-legislative scrutiny, with a scope that «will extend and apply to the whole of the UK». Its figures: secondary-market mark-ups routinely above 50%, tickets resold at six times their original cost in Trading Standards investigations, and the 200 largest resellers accounting for around 50% of sales by value on those platforms. The government estimates savings of around £112 million a year for fans, 900,000 more tickets bought directly through the primary channel each year, and £37 less on the average price paid for resale, including all fees.
The draft is another matter. Full Fact's pledge tracker, updated on 24 August 2026, classed it as «In progress» and noted that, as of that date, the legislation hadn't been introduced in Parliament. On 30 September, according to Resident Advisor, the Minister for Creative Industries, Ian Murray, told a UK Music panel in Liverpool, during the Labour Party conference, that the draft was being prepared and that the government expected to move «quicker than we initially intended». He said £400,000 a day moves from fans' pockets to touts: that's his figure, also reported by TicketNews. He gave no publication date. Alex Sobel, co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Music, called it the group's «number one short-term priority».
Why it matters
Two pieces of the same package are at different stages, and the gap isn't about timing. The price cap is settled, and it's zero profit. The commission cap, which decides whether the first one can be dodged through the service fee, has no number, and the government says it will set one when it brings forward the legislation. While it stays blank, the effect of the price cap can't be calculated: between a token fee and a generous one lies the whole distance between a face-value market and the same mark-up under another name.
The second reading is the route chosen. There's no licensing regime: there are consumer obligations and a competition authority that can fine up to 10% of global turnover. That's a different architecture from the one being discussed in Spain, where the proposed anchor is the original price plus CPI variation. And some aren't waiting for any law: Glastonbury sold its 2027 tickets with a closed register ahead of the box office, and a single resale channel — the festival's own.
What to do about this
- Check what your ticketing system stores as the «original cost». The proposed floor isn't the face value, but the total including unavoidable fees and delivery charges. If it isn't recorded per transaction, the resale ceiling can't be evidenced later.
- Keep a trail of purchase entitlement. Banning resale of more tickets than a buyer was entitled to purchase turns the per-buyer limit into a data point with consequences: you need to be able to say how many each person was allowed to buy, and how many they bought.
- Don't plan around a date — and plan for the whole country. There's no timeline: the consultation response says «when parliamentary time allows», and the minister gave no date on 30 September. The scope, though, is already written: the draft «will extend and apply to the whole of the UK».
- Move now on what depends on the contract, not the law. Per-buyer limits, named tickets and an in-house resale channel can all be applied through terms of sale: here's how to control resale without waiting for a law.