Written question asked by Louie French (Conservative) on Wednesday, 18 March 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 23 March 2026. It was answered by Kate Dearden (Labour) on Wednesday, 25 March 2026 on behalf of the Department for Business and Trade.

Tickets: Sales

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has used the additional enforcement powers for secondary ticketing under section 216 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 on the use of bots to purchase tickets.

Answer: Consumer law enforcement is principally the responsibility of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and Local Authority Trading Standards. Section 216 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 grants the CMA enforcement functions under the Breaching of Limits on Ticket Sales Regulations 2018. Those regulations make it an offence to use software to purchase tickets in excess of the sales limit set by an event organiser for a UK recreational, sporting or cultural event, where the intent is to secure financial gain. As an independent authority, the CMA has discretion to undertake enforcement action which, according to its prioritisation principles, it considers most appropriate.

Secondary information