Face value goes to Parliament: the Ticket Tout Ban Bill lands in the King's Speech

The government's promised crackdown on touting reached the King's Speech in May: a draft bill that would make reselling tickets above face value illegal, cap platform service fees, and put resale sites on the hook for enforcement.

It's really happening — slowly. The King's Speech on 13 May 2026 confirmed a draft Ticket Tout Ban Bill, the legislative follow-through on the government's pledge to outlaw for-profit ticket touting across concerts, theatre, comedy and sport.

The core of it: reselling a ticket for more than face value — defined as the original price plus unavoidable fees like service charges — becomes illegal. Service fees on resale platforms get capped too, so the limit can't be quietly rebuilt in the fees line. Platforms will carry a legal duty to monitor and enforce the cap on their own listings, and individuals will be barred from reselling more tickets than they were allowed to buy in the first place — a direct shot at the bulk-buying that feeds industrial touting. Sport gets its own parallel Sporting Events Bill.

The catch is the word 'draft'. The bill goes through pre-legislative scrutiny and another round of industry consultation before it is formally introduced, which means the final law is still some way off — plausibly years, not months. The touting economy doesn't stop while Parliament deliberates.

Our view hasn't changed since the consultation was first announced: this is the right fight. GigEntry already caps resale at face value on every ticket we sell — if a law makes that the national default, good. The sooner the rip-off economy around live music dies, the better for everyone who actually goes to shows.