StubHub Pledges to Leave UK Over Cap on Ticket Resale Prices

StubHub is reportedly threatening to leave the U.K. over a proposed cap on ticket-resale prices.

As the Financial Times (FT) reported Sunday (June 15), the British government is considering plans to limit ticket resales to their original price, or limit increases to 30%. The goal is to crackdown on scalpers charging steep prices to fans attending sporting events or concerts, the report says.

But secondary ticketing sites like StubHub argue that this could drive away legitimate resellers and force ticket buyers to use social media black markets and run the risk of being scammed.

StubHub International CEO Bob Kupbens told the FT that “even at 30%, we feel very strongly that would make it very challenging for us to operate” in the U.K.

He said StubHub would probably be forced to leave Great Britain, its largest market, given “the things that we do, the fraud protections, the things that we build on the platform, the customer service with a live person … it has a cost”.

StubHub contends it has a transparent and safe marketplace for buying and selling tickets, with 24-hour customer service and guarantees of comparable replacement tickets or refunds.

“Our investors wouldn’t allow us to burn money if we didn’t think there was a viable business here,” Kupbens said.

“Under a policy landscape where a price cap was implemented, StubHub International would be unable to offer our … guarantee or sustain our levels of customer service. As such, we would be forced to cease our U.K. operations.”

The British government began looking into this issue last year after thousands of fans of British rock duo Oasis waited hours to reserve seats for the band’s highly anticipated reunion tour, only to run into price increases due to Ticketmaster’s “dynamic pricing” strategy.

The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said earlier this year that Ticketmaster may have misled fans into paying more than expected for the Oasis tickets, and urged the company to be more transparent in its pricing and ticket labeling practices.

In related news, PYMNTS wrote last week about the rise of mobile-first checkout at stadiums and other concert venues’ point-of-sale (POS) systems.

According to research from the PYMNTS Intelligence report “May 2025 Self-Service Commerce Tracker® Series,” 57% of event-goers would spend more with in-seat ordering available, while 81% said they wanted the option of ordering food from their seats.

“That’s a significant revenue lever, and one that stadiums are tapping through digital POS systems,” that report said.

“For travel and entertainment brands, the goal is clear: deliver faster, more personalized and intuitive payment experiences that cater to consumer expectations. Across arenas, airports, cruise ships and hotels, the POS terminal is no longer a cash register: it’s a gateway to seamless, hyper-personalized experiences that define the future of convenience.”