According to a top security expert, top Premier League clubs each have between 8 and 12,000 season tickets, memberships, and hospitality tickets in the hands of touts.
Iridium Consultancy's Reg Walker considers it a "significant, rising" issue that calls for "cohesive, coordinated action" from the government.
Arsenal, Brighton, and Leeds have recently stated they are toughening up on the problem, which has been brought up by a number of Premier League clubs.
The black market for Premier League tickets is worth more than £50 million annually, according to Walker, but the true scope of the problem is "much underrated.".
Season by season, it unquestionably gets worse, Walker said. "Ten years ago, a significant football tout might have had a few hundred club memberships.
"At this point, you're looking at touts that, in some cases, have more than 1,000 members. ".
Fan "memberships" allow people to register their information with the club - frequently for a small annual fee - and gain access to special ticketing privileges before the general public.
During their FA Cup fourth-round match in January, Brighton prevented 150 mostly Liverpool supporters from entering the home end of the Amex Stadium.
The Seagulls discovered ticket touts had created numerous fictitious accounts to purchase tickets from the club, which they then resold for up to £250. As "absolutely shameless exploitation of football fans," the club blocked the tickets.
Arsenal stated on Tuesday that "100,000 suspected bots" had recently been blocked from their ticketing site.
"A significant number of season ticket and membership accounts have also been banned for suspicious touting activity," they continued in a statement. ".
Walker acknowledged that more could be done and that the Football Association and the Premier League should coordinate efforts. He also noted that there have been a "small number of instances" of ticket touting corruption within clubs.
Instead of leaving it up to each club individually, there needs to be unified, coordinated action across the UK.
"This is a football problem, not a club problem, and the FA and Premier League need to take the lead on this. ".
What is the legal ruling?
Walker claims that the current law is "completely inadequacy.". Selling a ticket for a specified football game without authorization is a crime, according to section 166 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act of 1994.
However, because it is only a summary offense, only a fine can be imposed on offenders.
Only 13 arrests for ticket touting-related offenses were made during the 2021–22 season, according to Home Office data on football-related offenses.
Since there were 104 arrests during the 2013–14 season, this number has largely been decreasing year over year.
According to Walker, one elite club in 2018 terminated just under 8,000 memberships that touts had obtained.
Even though this number is only "scratching the surface," he continued, it is not unusual to see 200 fans per game turned away at ticket turnstiles for having invalid tickets.
Walker, who collaborates with the government on the issue and participated in anti-tournament ticket touting efforts in 2012, thinks more action is required to ensure the safety of fans because many advertised tickets frequently place supporters in areas designated for adversarial fans.
"I think safety is the biggest factor in the current climate," he said. .
"Football evokes emotions. Because of this, if you are, let's say, the only Everton supporter in the Liverpool end and your team scores and you celebrate, things won't go well.
"There is a serious issue with public safety, particularly with the regrettable rise in violence at football games, so it's crucial that spectators are kept safe.
The legislation was implemented because organized football hooligan gangs were purchasing tickets in the opposing team's fan section and wreaking havoc.
"Since we don't want to repeat that scenario, it is imperative that touting at football games be strictly prohibited in order to maintain public order and protect spectator safety. ".
What is being done in this regard?
Although some Premier League clubs still use paper tickets, many have switched to digital tickets in an effort to combat ticket touting and for environmental reasons.
Leeds United reportedly noticed a noticeable improvement in lowering the number of people with invalid tickets gaining entry to Elland Road since switching to digital tickets at the beginning of the season.
To assist supporters who still use paper tickets and do not have access to smartphones, the club has added more stewards and customer service personnel to the gates.
No one will be able to enter the stadium without a digital ticket starting on Sunday when Leeds hosts Manchester United at Elland Road due to the club's decision to remove the option for fans to print their tickets at home.
Walker stated that "mobile ticketing offers clubs incredible tools to track the life of a ticket.".
"You can follow a product from the point of sale all the way to the person who checks it in at the gate. You can keep track of how many tickets an account transfers annually.
"It gives you a fantastic ability to identify touting activity, identify unpermitted ticket resale, and stop about 90% of the flow of tickets to the black market. ".
According to BBC Sport, the FA has "strong and rigorous procedures in place" to stop ticket touting near Wembley Stadium and urges supporters to "only purchase tickets through official sources.".
The Premier League has compiled a list of unofficial ticket websites that have been known to sell touted ticketsexternal-link and advises fans to use caution when using such websites.
Strongly inflated ticket prices, tickets going on sale months before a game is scheduled to take place, no confirmation of seat assignments, and a large number of tickets being sold for a high-profile match are all signs that a ticket might not be valid.
The National Police Chiefs' Council's lead for football policing, Chief Constable Mark Roberts, declared: "Ticket touting is a criminal offense, and those who are caught taking advantage of real fans in this way will face consequences.
"We will continue to cooperate with clubs and leagues to crack down on these offenses and support any proposals made to stop ticket touting.
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