EU Weighs New Rules on Advance Disclosure of Ticket Prices and Allocations

Ireland’s European commissioner for justice, Michael McGrath, is overseeing development of the proposed Digital Fairness Act, which would require concert promoters to disclose how many tickets are available at each price point before sales begin. The commission is examining the measure as part of an impact assessment of unfair commercial practices linked to dynamic pricing in the event ticket sector.

The legislation remains at consultation stage, with a formal proposal expected by the end of 2026.

One option under consideration would require ticket price information to be clearly displayed in advance, for example showing that 5,000 tickets are available at €100 and 1,000 at €300. Another option would restrict or ban advertising of “starting from” prices unless platforms also disclosed how many tickets were actually available at that price.

McGrath told The Sunday Times that consumers often feel they are queueing in the dark with an expectation of getting tickets at one price, but they could meet a very different reality a few hours later when their turn comes to actually make the purchase.

He said the commission would assess whether additional EU-level measures are needed to protect consumers and provide legal certainty for businesses. A senior EU source said the new legislation was intended to close gaps in existing consumer protection rules around online sales and pricing transparency.

The source said general EU consumer protection laws provide general principles on what kind of information should be given to consumers before they buy a product or service, but the laws are really at a principle level and are too vague.

The source added that the Digital Fairness Act aims to make the law more concrete by specifying and concretising existing consumer law to make it better and more fit for the digital age. The Digital Fairness Act is designed to tackle practices including dark patterns, manipulative design and unfair personalisation in digital services.

It is separate from the Digital Services Act, which was proposed by the European Commission under Ursula von der Leyen in December 2020 and has been fully applicable across the EU since February 2024.

The Times reported that managers of music stars including Ed Sheeran, Fontaines DC, Oasis and Harry Styles were among 120 signatories of an open letter to McGrath in January calling for urgent action against unauthorised ticket reselling platforms. The Digital Fairness Act may also examine reselling of tickets by businesses rather than individual members of the public.

In Ireland, under the Sale of Tickets Act 2021, it is illegal for secondary sellers to resell tickets for designated live events at a price above the original face value.

Ireland’s Competition and Consumer Protection Commission is investigating alleged dynamic pricing practices linked to the Oasis ticket sales in September 2024. 50 to more than €400. Fans reported sudden price increases during the purchasing process for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.

Another source added that in terms of this five-year mandate, the Digital Fairness Act is probably the commission’s biggest piece that they’ve come forward with and is going to be the most impactful.