The Competition and Markets Authority, UK, has fined StubHub £889,200 on 23 June 2026.
The UK watchdog CMA has a mandate to ensure market competition and protect consumer rights and economic growth.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched an investigation into StubHub as part of wider plans to crack down on illegal online price fixing.
The ticket retailer has been fined for not having hidden prices on tickets until customers reached the till.
The CMA also fined StubHub, a leading online ticket marketplace, for offering refunds to over 50,000 affected customers at an average of £10.33 each.
The UK watchdog discovered in its investigation that StubHub used illegal practices known as “drip pricing”.
According to experts, the term is described as a method used by retailers to entice fans to buy tickets that at the box office cost customers extra fees.
The practice prevents buyers from accurately making a market comparison of prices across different sellers.
The investigation covered the period from 5 April to 7 December 2025, when some customers were charged mandatory costs, including delivery and service charges, at checkout.
The CMA found in its findings that these charges only applied at the final stage of the purchase process, rather than appearing at the point of purchase.
The company in question acted immediately, took steps to end the practice and co-operated with the CMA during its investigation.
Furthermore, StubHub agreed to settle the case out of court, which in such cases allows the companies to get a 40 percent cut from their imposed fines.
