StubHub to Pay $10 Million, Settle FTC Charges on Alleged Deceptive Ticket Pricing

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has reached a proposed settlement with StubHub, the largest ticket exchange and resale provider in the United States, under which the company will pay $10 million to settle allegations of deceptive ticket pricing.

In May 2025, the FTC’s Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees went into effect, according to which it is an “unfair and deceptive practice for any business to offer, display, or advertise the price of a live-event ticket without clearly, conspicuously, and most prominently disclosing the total price,” the agency said in an April 9 statement.

The total price is the “maximum total of all fees or charges a consumer must pay for any good(s) or service(s) and any mandatory ancillary good or service.”

StubHub sold more than 40 million tickets in 2024, according to a company publication. Various types of tickets are sold across the platform, including those for sporting events, concerts, festivals, and theater.

The company, based in New York City, reported $9.2 billion in gross merchandise sales for 2025, with revenues totaling $1.7 billion and a net loss of $1.9 billion. It had assets worth more than $5 billion.

Advertised Versus Actual Prices

According to the FTC, after the deceptive fees rule went into effect in May 2025, StubHub allegedly advertised ticket prices without fully disclosing the total price customers would actually pay by not including mandatory fees.

Specifically, the company is charged with failing to display the full ticket price in the first three pricing displays on its website, including displays showing NFL tickets last year.

In the initial two displays, the total price did not include all mandatory fees in several instances, and the company did not publish the full ticket price. In the third display, although the company listed the various fees and charges applicable, it again failed to include the total price.

In addition to violating the Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees, StubHub is also alleged to have breached the Federal Trade Commission Act.

The FTC said the $10 million in fines levied against the company will be used to provide monetary relief to eligible customers.

Based on the proposed settlement, StubHub is barred from misrepresenting the total price of any goods or services. The company is required to disclose all fees and charges excluded from the total price and is prohibited from violating the Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees.

“Price transparency is essential to a free and competitive marketplace,” Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, said in a statement.

“Today’s settlement underscores the Commission’s commitment to ensuring that consumers pay the price they are promised.”

The action against StubHub follows the Trump administration’s March 31, 2025, executive order titled “Combating Unfair Practices in the Live Entertainment Market,” the FTC said.

In the order, President Donald Trump asked the Treasury secretary and attorney general to ensure that people who buy tickets in bulk and resell them at inflated prices fully comply with the Internal Revenue Code and other regulations.

The order directs the FTC to ensure price transparency at “all stages of the ticket-purchase process” and to take enforcement action, if necessary, to prevent “unfair, deceptive, and anti-competitive conduct in the secondary ticketing market.”

“America’s live concert and entertainment industry is the envy of the world,” Trump wrote. “But it has become blighted by unscrupulous middlemen who sit at the intersection between artists and fans and impose egregious fees while providing minimal value.”

In an emailed statement to The Epoch Times, a StubHub spokesperson said that the company has “long supported all-in pricing because it provides clarity for fans.”

“This settlement covers a limited number of transactions, spanning just three days in May 2025, where some listings on our site may have displayed ticket prices exclusive of fees,” the spokesperson said. “While we strongly disagree with the FTC’s view of the case, we are addressing their concerns by refunding a portion of those buyers’ fees.”

Warning Letter

Before the FTC’s recent settlement with StubHub, the agency had sent a letter to the company in May last year, warning about apparent misrepresentation of ticket prices on its website in violation of the Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees.

At the time, the FTC notified the company that violations could result in civil penalties of up to $53,088 per violation.

Commenting on the recent settlement deal between the FTC and StubHub, agency chairman Andrew N. Ferguson said in an April 9 statement that ticket sellers such as StubHub had initially declared support for the FTC’s Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees.

“StubHub was particularly well-positioned to support the rule,” Ferguson said. “Given StubHub’s experience and public support for the rule, I was disappointed to learn that it was allegedly one of the rule’s first major violators.”

“I hope to reassure sports fans: the Trump Administration is looking out for you,” the FTC chairman said. “We will protect you from unscrupulous ticketing companies so that you and your families can afford to attend our national pastimes and cheer on your favorite teams, together.”

Reuters contributed to this report.