Tout bots that bulk buy tickets banned in the UK

Tickets scalpers look for badges in Augusta, Georgia. Credit: Scott Halleran/Getty Images. (Getty)

Good news for ticket-buyers: the UK government has decided to curb touts who use bots to bulk-buy tickets for resale at big mark-ups.

It is set to become a criminal offence under the Digital Economy Act, meaning touts who use automated software to acquire tickets beyond the maximum ticket limit and sell them at spiked rates could end up with a fine.

The government has now notified the European Commission that it intends to take forward plans to enshrine a ban in law.

Matt Hancock, minister for the creative industries, said: "We’re determined to make sure 2018 is the year we help real fans get the chance to see their favourite music and sports stars at a fair price. We’ll be acting to stamp out the growing problem of touts misusing technology to scoop up vast numbers of tickets only to sell them on at rip-off prices."

He added, "Our work, together with improvements by industry, will help make the market more transparent and mean a great year for Britain’s thriving live events scene."

The latest news comes after The Digital Economy Bill passed as law in 2017 helping to thwart ticket touting.

Developments in stopping ticket touts have been made through The Competition And Markets Authority (CMA) and Google who both announced tougher regulations and law enforcement when it came to reselling tickets.

In addition to the CMA and Google, National Trading Standards has been heavily investigating ticket touts.

In its investigation, they've raided four properties, resulting in four arrests under suspicion breaking consumer protection regulations.

The latest crackdown on bots will work towards eliminating them all together.