Is StubHub doing all it can to police 10% Maine ticket resale cap?

The new Maine concert ticket law is the toughest in America. Enforcing the landmark law will test its effectiveness. But leading ticket resale platform StubHub is not going out of their way to ensure compliance.

A key aspect of the Maine law caps the resale price of event tickets at 10% above the original total price paid including taxes and fees. Leading resellers say their business can not survive a cap of less than 30%,

StubHub has asked its Marketplace resellers to self-police Maine pricing claiming they “do not have visibility into the original purchase price of a ticket.” Hoping to put any liability on the reseller, StubHub also added “a confirmation requirement” before a ticket can be listed.

But StubHub’s claim that it can not police resale markups is contradicted by how it’s handling a similar law in Ontario.

But a broker to broker message exchange shows StubHub requires resellers in Ontario to prove original face value.

Is Washington, DC’s RESALE Next?

Washington DC appears poised to cap ticket resale as well. An Oct. 22 hearing has been scheduled on DC’s RESALE Act.

Ticketing advocates are urging DC based supporters to testify at the hearing or via Zoom. Here is the public hearing webpage to register and submit testimony. Note that you will be testifying on the RESALE Act when you register.

The UK government has also signaled that a ticket resale cap will be implemented there soon.

Bruce Houghton