StubHub has agreed to pay $10 million to settle Federal Trade Commission (FTC) allegations that the ticket marketplace failed to clearly disclose the full price of tickets.
The federal agency said in a proposed settlement filed Thursday that StubHub violated the FTC Act and its Unfair or Deceptive Fees Rule by “misleadingly” advertising ticket prices on its website without clearly disclosing in advance what the total cost will be, including all mandatory fees.
In May 2025 the FTC started that require ticket purchases ensures price transparency at all stages of the ticket purchase process. The agency’s complaint alleges that after the rule went into effect, StubHub advertised its ticket prices without disclosing the full price.
“Given StubHub’s track record and public support for the rule, I was disappointed to learn that it was allegedly one of the first major violators of the rule,” said FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson. statement. “[…] StubHub chose to slowly comply with the rule in part because the NFL was about to release its regular season schedule. The complaint notes that the launch of the NFL schedule is “a 99th percentile traffic event” for StubHub and alleges that executives decided that the competitive advantage from misleading consumers outweighed the risk of getting caught.
The FTC sent a warning letter to StubHub on May 14, 2025, and the company corrected the problem the next day.
The $10 million secured by the FTC will cover StubHub’s three days of noncompliance with the rule and will be used to return “illegally” profits to consumers through refunds of fees paid to StubHub, Ferguson wrote.
“We’ve long supported all-in pricing because it provides clarity for fans,” a StubHub spokesperson said in a statement to TechCrunch. “This settlement covers a limited number of transactions, covering just three days in May 2025, where some listings on our website may have shown ticket prices without fees. While we strongly disagree with the FTC’s view of the case, we are addressing their concerns by refunding a portion of these buyers’ fees.”
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The case against StubHub marks the FTC’s latest crackdown on ticket markets. Last September the agency sued Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation, for engaging in illegal ticket resale tactics and deceiving consumers about price and ticket limits. The companies asked a federal judge let fall the case.
Last August, the FTC sued a Maryland-based ticket broker for allegedly using illegal tactics to circumvent ticket limits for popular events, such as Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, and then reselling those tickets at significantly higher prices.
