BBC: Britain announces ban on reselling sports tickets at high prices, but the new rules do not include football

November 20 According to the BBC report, the British government recently announced legislation prohibiting the resale of sports event tickets at a price higher than the original price, but this new rule does not apply to football matches.

In September this year, a BBC investigation revealed a black market that sold thousands of Premier League tickets at prices two to four times higher than their face value. While the new rules will prohibit the resale of sporting event tickets for more than their original price, the rules do not include football matches.

Why the new regulations do not apply to football

In the UK, football ticket sales are already covered by relevant laws. The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 prohibits the sale of tickets to football matches by anyone other than match organizers. Only clubs or organizers can resell tickets through their own platform, for example if a season ticket holder is unable to attend. The bill aims to reduce violence and disorder at games. As a result, football will not be included in the new ticket sales legislation. However, the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act only applies to ticket sales in England and Wales.

What is the situation in the black market for football tickets?

The Premier League's list of "unauthorized" ticket sellers contains more than 50 websites, and Chelsea owner Burley is also one of the directors and investors in the industry. The companies operating black market resale are registered in countries such as Spain, Dubai, Germany and Estonia. As the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act only applies to ticket resale within England and Wales, these companies are operating with impunity.

After investigating four of the websites on the list, it was discovered that they listed tens of thousands of Premier League tickets. For example, Arsenal's game against Nottingham Forest has over 18,000 tickets listed, almost a third of the Emirates Stadium's capacity.

As a result, fans were able to easily purchase tickets for four games through the black market. Prices range from £55 to £14,962, often well above face value, and often include hefty booking fees. All tickets were transferred digitally, in one case even received the morning of the game, and were available as mobile passes. This practice is considered "common" in English football, but there are currently no effective measures to stop it.

Wimbledon exemption could work in Manchester United's favor

Wimbledon have secured an exemption for their bond tickets, which offer premium seats to major stadium matches for five years, as well as access to exclusive restaurants and bars. A total of 3,770 seats can be bought and sold through the trading platform or privately.

This could be good news for Manchester United as they consider selling seat licenses to finance their planned £2bn new stadium. Seat licenses allow fans to pay a certain amount over a certain period of time for the right to purchase season tickets for the same seats and potentially resell them.

While United's system won't be exactly like Wimbledon's bond tickets, the price caps in the new regulations won't threaten the growth of live event venues in the UK. In certain circumstances, venues should still be able to generate secure upfront revenue through things like seat licenses to reinvest.