Key Sentence:
- British competition watchers say ticket resale companies such as Viagogo and StubHub will face more rigid rules.
- The Competition also Markets Authority (CMA) said it was impossible to take prompt and effective action against advertising due to current laws.
Another problem comes from vendors speculatively selling tickets they don't own, the regulator said. The CMA had previously taken action against Viagogo and StubHub, which later made changes. In February, a year after Viagogo bought StubHub for $4.1 billion, The latest CMA intervention is imminent as big music and sporting events resume in the UK in the next few months following the Covid pandemic, fueling fan demand for tickets.
Guard recommendations include:
- Ban on the platform that allows distributors to sell more event tickets than they can legally buy on the primary market
- Ensure that the platform is fully responsible for misinformation about tickets offered for sale on their website
- a new licensing system for secondary ticketing sites that allows agents to act quickly to remove websites, revoke companies' rights to operate in the sector, and impose sizeable fines.
- While buying tickets in bulk from professional vendors - who then sell them at inflated prices - can be illegal, authorities cannot act quickly and effectively under current laws, regulators said.
The issue relates to laws that prevent merchants from promoting tickets with false information or speculatively selling tickets that do not belong to them, the CMA added. George Lusty, Senior Director of Consumer Protection at CMA, said, "In recent years, we have taken necessary steps to protect people who buy tickets online from distributors, and the secondary ticketing website is now different from what we did. Before seeing the CMA.
"While it is clear that concerns about the sector remain, there are limits to what the CMA and other law enforcement agencies can do with their current powers. "With the restoration of live music and sporting events in mind, we would like the government to take action to strengthen existing laws and introduce a licensing regime for secondary ticketing platforms.
"If these proposals are adopted, they will help prevent the abduction of people by unscrupulous online retailers, and we stand ready to help the government solve it."
Adam French, who? a consumer rights expert, said, "Who? Has repeatedly exposed fake secondary card operators who resell tickets at exorbitant prices without providing clear information or warning about the risk of rejection at the door. "The government needs to implement these recommendations as soon as possible and continue with its plans to give the CMA stronger powers to enforce consumer protection laws."
A Viagogo spokesman said the CMA report provided an "interesting picture of the effectiveness of current regulations."
"The CMA notes that their report was not the result of a customer complaint and that a ban on secondary platforms would lead to an explosion of black market ticket sourcing. The spokesperson continued, adding that Viagogo had been a strong supporter that the UK "I'm taking" the opportunity to recover from Covid -19 to improve the event industry.
