UK Gov: Ticketmaster Dynamic Pricing May Break Consumer Protection Laws

The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) “expects” Ticketmaster to change how it labels and prices tickets after an investigation into the sale of tickets for Oasis’ “Live ’25” tour raised concerns about misleading practices that it says may be in violation of consumer protection laws.

According to the CMA, Ticketmaster sold more than 900,000 tickets during the controversial sale, allegedly labeling certain seated tickets as “platinum” and pricing them at up to 2.5 times their standard cost—despite those seats often offering no additional benefits. Investigators say the “platinum” designation may have misled fans into believing these tickets were of higher quality.

READ MORE: UK CMA Launches Investigion into Ticketmaster’s “Dynamic” Pricing after Oasis Fiasco

Another key concern was Ticketmaster’s two-tier approach to standing tickets: lower-priced options were sold out before higher-priced tickets were made available, catching fans off guard after they waited in a lengthy queue. The CMA notes that, while many fans believed algorithmic dynamic pricing was in play, the higher prices were merely introduced after cheaper options had been exhausted, rather than adjusting in real time.

“Fans reported problems when buying Oasis tickets from Ticketmaster, and we decided those concerns warranted investigation,” said CMA Interim Senior Director of Consumer Protection Hayley Fletcher. “We’re concerned that Oasis fans didn’t get the information they needed or may have been misled into buying tickets they thought were better than they were. We now expect Ticketmaster to work with us to address these concerns so, in future, fans can make well-informed decisions when buying tickets.”

While Ticketmaster has made some changes to its sales process, the CMA says the adjustments do not fully address its concerns. It is now consulting with the ticketing giant on additional steps, including how tickets are labeled and when pricing details are disclosed to consumers.

Currently, the CMA cannot levy fines directly for consumer protection violations; those matters must go through the courts. New rules set to take effect on April 6, 2025, will give the CMA power to decide when consumer law has been broken without court intervention and impose penalties of up to 10% of a company’s turnover. In the meantime, the CMA advises ticket buyers to seek help from local consumer advice organizations if they encounter issues.