UK government proposes unlimited fines for online ticket touts using bots

The UK government has proprosed a change to the Digital Economy Bill to combat online ticket touts.

Suggested in reponse to May 2016's Waterson Report on secondary ticketing, the change would make it illegal to use bots to bypass maximum ticket restrictions in order to buy up tickets en masse, and could result in unlimited fines for those found guilty.

“It’s unacceptable that touts are misusing technology to bypass security measures and buy up vast numbers of tickets before real fans get the chance, only to sell them on at rip-off prices,” said Matt Hancock, Minister of State for Digital and Culture.

“It’s a growing problem that affects too many people," he continued. "Ticket sellers also need to do more, by improving transparency and ensuring that they are acting in the best interests of consumers and help the market work for everyone.”

The legislation would be similar to the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act introduced in the US by President Obama last year, which made it illegal to use software to purchase event tickets.