German Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig (SPD) plans to introduce legislation that will limit the price increases allowed for tickets to sports and cultural events. The proposed law includes a price cap, which Hubig stated is necessary to establish a clear limit for reselling tickets. She commented to the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung” (noz) that other countries have long implemented laws against scalping in the secondary ticket market and that Germany must follow suit.
The minister is pushing for a system where resold tickets could be no more than 20 percent more expensive than the original price, and no more than 20 Euros above the original cost. Hubig described this measure as “fair, understandable, and easy to control.” The draft for this “Ticket Protection Law” is complete and currently undergoing internal government approval. Her ambition is that the law take effect before the next summer of sports and concerts.
Hubig justified the initiative by pointing to excessively inflated prices observed online and outside venues. She criticized traders who intentionally buy up tickets only to resell them at steep markups, calling this practice “scalping.” According to the minister, this behavior harms clubs, event organizers, and artists who often offer affordable tickets to ensure that people with smaller budgets can attend. She added that participants in the secondary ticket market are sabotaging these efforts and turning tickets into speculative assets.
