Ticket reselling is legal?

If you have ever tried to attend a football match of your favourite team, you may have had to opt for ticket reselling. But is it legal? Today we will clarify it for you!

The resale of tickets to attend certain shows at a price higher than that set by the event promoter is a widespread practice, even more so since the rise of digital platforms. Is it legal? We will explain it to you!

Is street reselling legal?

In Spain, the only law that specifically regulates this issue is RD 2816/1982. In its article 67.2 it establishes that “the sale and resale of tickets on the street or by itinerant persons is strictly prohibited”.

It is therefore clear that the sale of tickets on public roads before an event is a practice not covered by the regulations, which can lead to fines of up to €60,000 in very serious cases and even, in some cases, criminal liability.

And what about online resale?

The problem is therefore concentrated on online ticket resale platforms, since we are faced with a legal vacuum. The Digital Services Law approved by the European Union this year 2024, comes to clarify this situation with the aim of combating abusive practices such as:

- The lack of sufficient pre-contractual information.

- Abuse when setting the sale price of tickets.

- Deception of the consumer, putting non-existent or fake tickets on sale or tickets that do not correspond to the type of ticket supposedly purchased.

This regulation requires these platforms to provide them with greater transparency, clearly identifying who is behind the sale, with the aim of avoiding speculative resale.

It is prohibited to:

- Resale at prices higher than the initial price set by the promoter.

- Use bots or other types of automated programs that allow the purchase of large packages of tickets in a matter of seconds.

Fines for those platforms that do not comply with the regulations can even reach millions of euros.