The StubHub UK Arena ticket listings have been hijacked by a trio of ruthless resellers, with an astonishing 72% of all tickets for major events at iconic venues like the O2 in London and Co-op Live in Manchester coming from just three professional sellers. The research, conducted by anti-touting campaign group FanFair Alliance, has uncovered some disturbing trends that threaten to undermine the very fabric of live music and sport in this country.
Analysis of 50,272 tickets revealed that Ticket Evolution is the biggest player in this ticketing game of thrones, accounting for a staggering 40.9% of all listings. Your Ticket Delivery follows closely behind with 19.5%, while PCE trails slightly with 10.6%. These findings have left FanFair Alliance questioning whether these resellers are engaging in widespread speculative ticketing - where tickets are advertised before they're even secured.
The investigation has also highlighted StubHub UK's struggles to keep the touts at bay, despite its claims of robust systems and policies to prevent such practices. Following contact from FanFair Alliance, over 20,000 listings attributed to Ticket Evolution were removed from the platform - but many suspect that more questionable listings remain hidden in plain sight.
Adam Webb, campaign manager at FanFair Alliance, has called for a comprehensive investigation into the secondary ticketing sector and accelerated government action to ban ticket touting once and for all. The ongoing calls for regulation are not going unnoticed by StubHub International, which maintains that its platform is equipped with robust measures to prevent speculative sales and ensure listing validity.
However, these findings have come at a crucial time when the UK government's proposed legislation to tackle ticket touting remains in limbo. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy's plans to make reselling tickets above their original price illegal and cap fees charged by resale platforms have been met with disappointment from the music industry, who fear that further delays will give profiteering touts free rein.