Brighton fights Premier League ticket touting with new tech as fans fall victim to unauthorised resale

LONDON — A BBC investigation into Premier League ticket resales shows a thriving secondary market that can derail dream trips and leave fans out of pocket. James, a Tottenham supporter from South Korea, flew roughly 5,500 miles to Brighton and paid £900 for a ticket bought on an unauthorised resale site. He was turned away at the Amex Stadium when his entry was refused because the ticket had been deactivated.

Brighton & Hove Albion invited BBC Sport to witness the scale of the problem. Staff told James his ticket had been purchased illegitimately, and more than a hundred similar cases were identified for that match alone. Reselling tickets above face value is illegal in the United Kingdom, but many websites operate from outside the country. The BBC's investigation found that resellers often use bot software and fake identities to hoover up hundreds of tickets to sell at inflated prices, leaving fans with tickets that do not work or are canceled at the gate. "Long-term supporters are finding it impossible to get tickets because of the way they are made available through secondary agencies," says Tom Greatrex, chair of the Football Supporters' Association. The Tottenham-Brighton clash finished 2-2.

Brighton says it is using new technologies to tackle the problem. The club created the role of tickets investigation officer this season, filled by Joseph Sells, who was on duty for the Tottenham fixture. "We've found hundreds [of unauthorised resale tickets] today, and going at the black market rate, we've prevented around £100,000 of transactions that would have been going to touts," Sells said. "We're investing heavily in stopping the problem at the core, using the latest tech we can, and we're on top of it." He cited a case of a family who had paid £6,000 for six tickets to a Manchester City match. Brighton says 285 touted tickets were blocked at the match, and 12 individual season-ticket holders were identified as touts and had their tickets canceled for future matches. One tout account used the name Tony Montana.

The Premier League is rolling out new digital-ticketing rules, including encrypted barcodes, to deter touts. Sells explains that the software is bespoke to Brighton and searches for suspicious transactions and resale listings tied to seat numbers. "We are essentially training a model to spot tout behaviour before it can come into the club," he says. "It applies a risk score to each transaction. Let's say someone in Estonia is shopping with a prepaid card issued in the United Arab Emirates — that is going to flag the system. The model learns every day how to spot more anomalies." At the stadium, fans presenting an unauthorised ticket receive a letter explaining the issue and advising them to pursue refunds through their card issuers, who can assist in reclaiming funds. The club also offers remaining seats in the stadium — either from season-ticket holders unable to attend or in hospitality sections — to fans whose tickets were blocked on entry.

Despite Brighton's efforts, the market remains substantial and cross-border in nature. Resale is illegal in the UK, but many platforms operate offshore, complicating enforcement. The Premier League's digital-ticketing push, coupled with clubs' local investigations, aims to curb the practice by identifying and blocking tout networks before they cash in on matchday. For fans who travel long distances and spend thousands on tickets, the takedown of a single bad sale can be a meaningful win, though officials acknowledge this is an ongoing battle.

This case underscores how football’s business hinges on ticketing in a volatile market where technology, enforcement, and cross-border commerce intersect. The investigation reflects broader Business & Markets implications: clubs rely on ticket revenue to fund operations, yet illicit resale channels can distort pricing and erode trust among genuine supporters. The ongoing work at Brighton, and across the Premier League, signals a trend toward more sophisticated digital controls, data analytics, and cross-club collaboration as sports organizations adapt to a changing marketplace.