- Ticket touts inflating prices and charging often hundreds of pounds over face value has led to more than a third (38%) of uncapped resale site users taking out short-term-term loans to afford tickets in 2025
- One in five people who have used uncapped resale sites have cut back on essentials including food and heating as a result
- The UK government has outlined its intention to ban the resale of tickets for profit, but O2 is now calling for quick action and the inclusion of new measures within the next King’s Speech to protect music fans from losing millions of pounds
- O2 has been campaigning for a fairer ticketing market alongside the FanFair Alliance since 2017. Until new laws come in and touting is outlawed, music fans can visit O2’s online hub Stamp It Tout – www.stampittout.co.uk – for advice and tips to navigate the ticket resale market safely and without being ripped off
Ticket touts are driving music fans to debt, according to new research from O2 which shows that over a third (38%) of purchases on uncapped ticket resale websites in 2025 were funded by short-term loans (15%) or using Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) schemes (23%).
The data shows the extreme measures music fans are being forced to go to in order to secure tickets to see their favourite artists perform live, as a result of professional ticket touts snapping up tickets en masse and then setting often eye-watering resale prices. O2 is calling on the government to move quickly and act on its promise to outlaw the resale of tickets for profit in the UK and save music fans hundreds of millions of pounds.
Coldplay, Oasis and Billie Eilish topped the list of most touted gigs in 2025 of those surveyed, with fans admitting to shelling out up to £800 per ticket on uncapped resale sites – more than the price of the average room to rent in the UK* – in the last year alone.
With music fans too often forced to choose between missing out on seeing their favourite artist or paying sky high prices, those surveyed admitted to reducing their spending on dining (27%), nights out (27%) and holidays (25%) in order to find the funds for resale tickets.
Worryingly, one in five (22%) said they even cut back on everyday essentials including food and heating to fund these inflated ticket prices.
Of those surveyed, just one in ten (9%) people did not use any form of debt (credit cards, BNPL or short-term loans) to buy tickets, showing how prices set by touts are stretching music fans’ budgets.
Fight for Fairer Ticketing
While the UK government announced plans to ban the resale of tickets above face value in November, the practice remains legal until new legislation is brought in.
Until then, touts can continue to list tickets and control prices, keeping fans vulnerable to being ripped off and paying over the odds throughout 2026. As of January 2026, Olivia Dean tickets, originally costing £70 for her show at The O2, are currently being listed by a trader on an uncapped resale website for £1,164 – a staggering 1563% markup. Meanwhile, tickets for Fred Again… (original price £61) at Alexandra Palace are being resold for a whopping £1,534 – 2,415% above the face value.
With ticket touts costing music fans £145** million extra a year, the equivalent of £400k a day, O2 is urging the government to act quickly. The telecoms company – which sponsors 20 venues in the UK and sells over 1.7 million tickets to its customers every year via Priority Tickets – wants legislation to be included within the next King’s Speech in May. This will see the government set its priorities for the forthcoming parliamentary session, and new laws to ban ticket touting will help keep millions in the pockets of music fans.
Gareth Griffiths, Director of Partnerships and Sponsorship at Virgin Media O2, said: “Music fans should not be forced into debt in order to line the pockets of greedy ticket touts – they should have the right to see their favourite artists live, at a price decided by the artist themselves. Music fans have been ripped off by ticket touts for far too long and O2 is urging the government to act now, save music fans hundreds of millions of pounds and bring in laws to protect our gigs and world-leading live music economy.”
Adam Webb, Campaign Manager, FanFair Alliance, said: “These findings from O2 are hugely concerning, and highlight how rampant online ticket touting continues to exploit the passions of genuine music fans. It is now imperative that the Government makes good on their commitment to stop this industrial-scale rip off by introducing a cap on ticket resale prices in the next King’s Speech. Without that action, we will continue to see online touts and overseas resale platforms drain hundreds of millions of pounds from the bank accounts of British music lovers.”
Stamp it Tout
To help keep music fans informed and safe online when purchasing gig tickets, O2 created Stamp It Tout – an online information hub which offers simple tips to help people make informed ticketing purchases and avoid being ripped off by touts. Until the government legislation comes into effect, music fans can visit Let’s Stamp It Tout – Virgin Media O2 to find out more.
ENDS
NOTES TO EDS
The research was conducted by Censuswide, among a sample of 2,236 UK respondents (Aged 18+) including 2,002 Nationally representative respondents, with an additional boost to reach a total of 500 respondents who have bought tickets from Viagogo or Stubhub in the last year. The data was collected between 08.12.2025 – 12.12.2025. Censuswide abides by and employs members of the Market Research Society and follows the MRS code of conduct and ESOMAR principles. Censuswide is also a member of the British Polling Council.
**£145m figure analysed independently by Virgin Media O2 and cleared by YouGov. The figure was calculated using data from UK Music’s Here, There and Everywhere 2023 report and YouGov survey data and YouGov survey data have been weighted and are representative of all UK music fans adults aged 18+. Total sample size was 2044 adults for July’24. The survey was carried out online.
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