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New Statesman
5 days ago
- Business
- New Statesman
Price caps could see sports fans suffer
Sponsored by Viagogo With ticket demand at an all-time high for live sports and entertainment, the government is exploring introducing price caps on resale markets as a way to 'protect' fans. While well-intentioned, this risks doing more harm than good for fans, argues Rob Wilson, professor of applied sport finance and head of executive education at the University Campus of Football Business (UCFB). What is the connection between price caps on ticket resale and financial harm for sports fans? The introduction of a price cap could unintentionally increase the very thing the government is seeking to eradicate. Capping resale prices doesn't reduce demand – it simply shifts where that demand is met. Without access to regulated resale platforms, and with demand often far outstripping supply, desperate fans will turn to where they see sources of tickets: social media, unverified sites and underground platforms. This is where fraudsters lie in wait, offering tickets that don't exist and employing social engineering techniques to scam fans out of their hard-earned money. Unlike regulated resale platforms, these channels offer no guarantees, no refund policies, and no accountability. We don't need to look too far afield to see this harm in action. Tickets recently went on sale for Ireland's first ever regular-season NFL game, between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Minnesota Vikings, to be played on 28 September at Dublin's Croke Park. It's set to be a show-stopper. Dampening the excitement is news from the digital bank Revolut. The bank, which has three million customers in Ireland, says it has seen a marked increase in ticket scam reports since the tickets went on sale. When analysing data from its Irish customers in the fortnight following the on-sale date (17-30 June) compared with the previous two weeks (3-16 June), Revolut found an 80 per cent increase in the number of ticket scam victims during the second fortnight. It's no wonder that the bank has been strongly advising punters to look out for the most common tactics of fraudsters and to stick to official resale sites, rather than attempting to buy from social media. Research by the consultancy firm Bradshaw Advisory backs this up. Its research indicates that ticket fraud in Victoria, Australia and Ireland – both jurisdictions with a resale price cap – is nearly four times higher than the UK. If rates of ticket fraud in the UK were to increase to those seen in Victoria and Ireland, the research suggests the cost to consumers could be £1.2bn per year. What effects are being overlooked? While well intentioned, limiting ticket resale with the introduction of price caps makes it harder for fans to resell tickets safely and legally. Fraudsters know this and take advantage in unregulated markets that rely completely on trust, through encrypted messaging apps, social media and on websites that operate beyond the reach of UK law. Meanwhile, fans lose access to the safe, regulated resale options that offer transparency and consumer protection. It's easy to look at price caps as a quick fix but more consideration must be given to the knock-on impact of their introduction, not just to fans but to the entire sports industry. How might price caps harm the UK sports industry? Price caps don't just affect fans – they can damage the business models of major UK sporting events. Take Wimbledon, for example – the most prestigious tennis event in the world. It's not surprising that earlier this month the All England Lawn Tennis Club warned the government that proposals to cap the price of resale tickets to live events could endanger the tournament, given the sale of debenture seats is a critical source of funding. Wimbledon's debenture system – where premium seats are sold long-term and can be legally resold – has raised over £500m for venue upgrades and fan facilities. Implementing a price cap threatens to weaken demand for primary issuance by limiting the ability of holders to recoup their outlay or even profit by selling them on when they can't attend. Wimbledon relies on this model during the two-week grand slam window to fund necessary improvements, the venue's infrastructure, fan experience and global standing. Resale price caps would directly threaten this vital funding and put the future viability of this iconic sporting institution at risk. Do price caps solve other problems in the ticketing market such as bots, or allocation fairness? Price caps don't stop bots. It's a problem that needs to be cut out at source – ie the primary market, where tickets are originally sold and where bot activity takes place. Existing legislation outlawing bot technology, such as the UK government's 2018 ban, does exist but more needs to be done to enforce these laws with primary sellers and eradicate bots. There still hasn't been a prosecution under this law in the seven years since it was passed. Taking a further step back, there is evidence that for some events the majority of the venue's inventory has already been sold or placed by the time tickets go on sale to the general public. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe These tickets get locked up in presales, sponsorship deals, VIP access, or exclusive credit card offers. This means that consumers are already at a massive disadvantage in securing a ticket. The lack of supply is a real driver of rising prices. If you don't fix transparency or tackle monopolistic control over ticketing, fans will continue to feel shut out, no matter what the resale policy says. What should the UK government do instead? If policymakers want to help fans, they need to target the root causes. First, they should enforce existing laws against bots and speculative selling. Second, improve transparency around how many tickets are actually made available, with the introduction of interoperability within the ticketing market. Third, encourage competition by opening up the primary ticketing market. And finally, allow safe, flexible resale with clear guarantees for fans. The goal should be fan-first flexibility, not rigid price controls that fail in practice. Are there any real-world examples that show price caps working or failing? Price caps have not been implemented in many places and there appears to be a good reason. Evidence from reputable research bodies points to the harm price caps do to fans with soaring fraud. We only have to look across the Irish Sea where one of the country's largest digital banks is reporting an 80 per cent increase in ticket fraud for the country's first NFL game – and a 48 per cent rise in the amount of money lost to ticket-related scams. Ireland's resale laws were designed to protect fans, but with no functional resale market, thousands are left empty handed or else turn to risky alternatives. With the UK government currently deliberating on whether or not to introduce price caps, I would urge those responsible to review those markets where price caps are in place and are harming fans. We are fortunate to have a lens on the unintended consequences of price caps in these markets and we must learn lessons. Furthermore, the stark warnings from sporting institutions like Wimbledon and banks like Revolut must be heeded. An attempted short-term fix by the government could risk initiating significant harm for huge swathes of fans across many industries as well as the entire UK sports industry. Any words of advice to policymakers? Good intentions don't always make good policy. If we want to protect fans, we should build systems that prioritise safety, access and competition, not create restrictions that push fans into the dark. A resale cap might look like a solution, but, in reality, it just changes where the problem shows up next. Related
The Guardian
15-07-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Hundred sell-off saved up to six counties from possible collapse, new report finds
The windfall generated by the sale of shares in the eight Hundred franchises may have saved as many as six first-class counties from imminent crisis and possible collapse, according to an expert in sport finance who co-wrote a new report into county cricket. The Leonard Curtis Cricket Finance Report analysed the finances of each of the 18 first-class counties over a decade, identifying a 'yawning gap' between the results of the most successful teams – with Surrey by some distance the most profitable – and the less well-off. Of the £306.13m generated by the 18 counties in 2023 just three teams – Surrey, Lancashire and Warwickshire, with income boosted in all three cases by hosting Ashes Tests that year – were responsible for 44%. By contrast the three poorest counties – Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Northamptonshire – between them generated just 5.56% of the total. The ECB's annual payment to counties, a total of just over £88m in 2023, made up 27% of their combined income, but while it constituted just 6% of Surrey's it made up 71% of Northamptonshire's, and 67% of Leicestershire's. The report suggests that the fact counties do not themselves control such a vital revenue stream could threaten their financial sustainability, particularly given concerns that it will be reduced if income from future domestic and international media rights sales decreases. 'We would probably have been talking about 18 counties going down to 14, 13, 12 even,' said professor Rob Wilson, the report's co-author. 'Essentially the picture is counties overly reliant on ECB funding. And if you take that ECB funding out, they are technically insolvent. They simply do not make enough money to wash their face. Then you have this unicorn that is the Hundred which will to a degree solve some of those short and medium-term financial issues.' Wilson described the arrival of the Hundred money as 'a crucial turning point in the domestic game … an extraordinary opportunity, but it has to be managed with real prudence'. 'It's really easy if you just look at the numbers to say those four counties are almost insolvent because they don't generate enough to sustain themselves. So without that grant, they disappear,' he said. 'The reality is that the ECB revenue structure enables the counties to exist in the formats they're in. And that's going to be turbocharged with the Hundred money. What's important is that the ECB look after that money and how they distribute it so the clubs don't waste it.' But while counties are due to profit from the £520m generated by the sale of Hundred franchises, 65% of that would disappear instantly if they simply paid off the debt they held in 2023, a combined £338.6m, most of it concentrated in the clubs with the highest annual incomes. Sign up to The Spin Subscribe to our cricket newsletter for our writers' thoughts on the biggest stories and a review of the week's action after newsletter promotion The difference between the financial might of different counties is such that though Durham's annual spend on staff salary costs, as a percentage of their revenue, was almost the same as Surrey's (17% and 18% respectively), their total salary bill was £1.39m, to Surrey's £11.6m. Given that disparity it is perhaps no surprise that the report's analysis of competitive balance in domestic cricket is not encouraging. 'Overall the general trend appears to be declining,' it concludes, 'and this should present a cause of concern.'
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Wells Fargo (WFC) Taps i2i Logic to Power Personalized Insights for Commercial Banking Clients
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) is . On June 18, i2i Logic, a fintech company, revealed a partnership with Wells Fargo to enhance the latter's commercial banking services. The deal involves Wells Fargo leveraging the i2i Logic Client Intelligence Platform to deliver personalized insights to middle-market clients. The tool will harness Wells Fargo's internal industry expertise with corporate and public data to deliver the objectives. Rob Wilson / The i2i Logic Client Intelligence Platform will power the Wells Fargo Benchmark Intelligence. This tool generates numerous unique benchmarks to help clients assess their financial needs and identify suitable banking solutions. Wells Fargo expects the new solution to improve banker efficiency and client experience. The company is certain that the enhanced Wells Fargo Benchmark Intelligence will enable faster access to relevant insights and more tailored conversations. i2i Logic's technology is designed to streamline banker workflows and deepen client engagement. The platform is already in use across global time zones, including London, Melbourne, and New York. Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) is a diversified financial services firm. It provides banking, lending, investment, and wealth management services to individuals, small businesses, corporations, and institutions. Its products include checking and savings accounts, credit cards, mortgages, business loans, investment banking, and financial advisory services. While we acknowledge the potential of WFC as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 10 Biotech Stocks Screaming a Buy and 13 Best Software Stocks to Buy Now. Disclosure: None. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Wells Fargo (WFC) Taps i2i Logic to Power Personalized Insights for Commercial Banking Clients
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) is . On June 18, i2i Logic, a fintech company, revealed a partnership with Wells Fargo to enhance the latter's commercial banking services. The deal involves Wells Fargo leveraging the i2i Logic Client Intelligence Platform to deliver personalized insights to middle-market clients. The tool will harness Wells Fargo's internal industry expertise with corporate and public data to deliver the objectives. Rob Wilson / The i2i Logic Client Intelligence Platform will power the Wells Fargo Benchmark Intelligence. This tool generates numerous unique benchmarks to help clients assess their financial needs and identify suitable banking solutions. Wells Fargo expects the new solution to improve banker efficiency and client experience. The company is certain that the enhanced Wells Fargo Benchmark Intelligence will enable faster access to relevant insights and more tailored conversations. i2i Logic's technology is designed to streamline banker workflows and deepen client engagement. The platform is already in use across global time zones, including London, Melbourne, and New York. Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) is a diversified financial services firm. It provides banking, lending, investment, and wealth management services to individuals, small businesses, corporations, and institutions. Its products include checking and savings accounts, credit cards, mortgages, business loans, investment banking, and financial advisory services. While we acknowledge the potential of WFC as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 10 Biotech Stocks Screaming a Buy and 13 Best Software Stocks to Buy Now. Disclosure: None. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
BBC News
22-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Cash grants offered to help refresh Shropshire town centres
Grants of up to £10,000 are being made available to help revitalise high streets in Shropshire's market Council has launched a new scheme to bring underused spaces in the county back into productive use and help boost local economic grants are on offer to landlords of properties within designated market town conservation areas that have been vacant for more than 12 be eligible, applicants need to show how the money will be used to enhance the property's rental potential, with a mandatory match of 50% of the funding. The funding is being made available through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF).Shropshire Council said the project would help to preserve "the unique character of our historic towns". The grants are available to support improvement works that will help make properties more attractive and rentable. The council said that in exceptional cases, higher grants may be applications for funding will be assessed against the potential for economic impact, deliverability, and alignment with conservation area Rob Wilson said: "This is a fantastic opportunity to bring long-vacant properties back into use. "By supporting landlords to invest in their buildings, we're helping to revitalise our high streets, encourage new businesses, and strengthen the economic resilience of our market towns." Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
