The Government has been urged to make good on its promise to ban ticket sales amid concerns the policy will be left out of the King's speech next month.
In November, the Government announced that new rules making it illegal to resell tickets to live events for profit would end the “industrial-scale” promotion that has caused misery for millions of fans.
Ministers confirmed plans to make it illegal to resell tickets to concerts, theatre, comedy, sports and other live events for more than the original cost.
Labor's manifesto promised stronger protections to stop consumers being ripped off or excluded from events by resellers, who often use bots to buy tickets in bulk the moment they go on sale, which they can then sell at huge markups on secondary ticketing websites.
The proposed rules make it illegal to sell tickets at a price above face value, defined as the original price plus unavoidable fees, including service charges.
Service fees will be capped to prevent platforms from undermining the price cap, which will have a legal duty to monitor and enforce compliance, and people will be prohibited from reselling more tickets than they were entitled to purchase in the initial sale.
A host of world-renowned artists have backed the plan, including Radiohead, Dua Lipa and Coldplay.
Following a report in The Guardian that the minister responsible for policy, Ian Murray, had told music industry groups not to worry if the measure was not part of the King's speech on May 13, the Government said it needed new primary legislation which it was working to implement as soon as possible.
A government spokeswoman said: “Ticket sales are a blight on the live events industry and cause misery for millions of fans.
“Last year we set decisive plans to end advertising once and for all, and we are committed to delivering on them for the benefit of fans and the industry.”
The music industry and Which one? expressed concern at the suggestion of any delay, as the sites appeared to show scalpers selling tickets to Radio 1's Big Weekend in Sunderland well above the two-ticket limit for buyers and at greatly inflated prices.
Annabella Coldrick, chief executive of the Music Managers Forum, said: “2026 was supposed to mark the government's move 'from announcements to action', but to date we have little evidence of this.
“The ban on ticket sales was one of only two music-related commitments in Labour's manifesto, along with fixing EU tours.
“These are widely supported, pro-growth measures that will bring tangible benefits to the British public. However, if ticket resale legislation is not introduced in the King's speech, it will have the opposite effect and continue to cost those voters hundreds of millions of pounds a year.
“This government must keep its promises and deliver on them.”
Adam Webb, campaign director of the FanFair Alliance, said: “The government has a big decision to make: will they 'put the fans first' or not?
“Last November, ministers pledged to take 'bold new steps' to ban online ticket sales and support consumers.
“Enacting these measures should be a no-brainer but, if legislation is not introduced in the King's next speech, the cycle of industrial-scale exploitation will continue.”
Lisa Webb, consumer law expert at Which?, said: “The Government has promised to put fans first, but if this legislation is not included in the King's Speech, the only ones celebrating will be secondary ticketing websites and online resellers.”
