The UK's competition watchdog has said ticket resale firms such as Viagogo and StubHub should face tighter rules.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said current laws meant it was not possible to act swiftly and effectively against touts. Another problem came from resellers who speculatively sold tickets they did not own, the regulator said.
The CMA has previously acted against both Viagogo and StubHub, which have made changes as a result. In February, a year after Viagogo bought StubHub for $4.1bn (£3.1bn), the regulator told Viagogo to sell all of StubHub's business outside North America to satisfy competition concerns.
The CMA's latest intervention comes as big music and sporting events are set to resume in the UK in the next few months after the Covid pandemic, fuelling fans' demand for tickets.
The watchdog's recommendations include:
· a ban on platforms allowing resellers to sell more tickets for an event than they can legally buy from the primary market
· ensuring platforms are fully responsible for incorrect information about tickets that are listed for sale on their websites
· a new licensing system for secondary ticket sites that would enable an authority to act quickly to take down websites, withdraw a business's right to operate in the sector and impose substantial fines.
While bulk-buying of tickets by professional resellers - who then sell them at inflated prices - may be illegal, swift and effective action by authorities is not possible under the current law, the regulator said.