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The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has taken action against StubHub, accusing the ticket resale giant of failing to provide transparent pricing for live event tickets, in violation of the agency’s regulations.
In a significant move, StubHub has agreed to a $10 million settlement with the FTC following allegations that it did not adequately disclose the full cost of tickets to consumers. This settlement is set to return $10 million in fees to affected consumers, addressing the company’s breach of the FTC’s rules against unfair or deceptive fees.
“According to the Commission’s Fees Rule, ticket prices for live events must be fully transparent from the outset. This allows consumers to make informed purchasing decisions,” stated Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, in an official release. “Ensuring price transparency is critical for maintaining a free and competitive marketplace. This settlement highlights our dedication to ensuring consumers are charged the prices they expect.”
The FTC’s directive follows a warning letter sent to StubHub in May 2025. The letter highlighted that multiple price listings on the company’s website appeared to contravene the Fees Rule, which had been implemented on May 12, 2025.
The FTC’s order comes after the agency issued a warning letter to the ticket selling platform in May 2025 saying that multiple prices on its websites appeared to violate the Fees rule, which had taken effect on May 12, 2025.
According to the agency, the rule, says t 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,” which the Rule defines as “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 had advertised ticket prices without showing the full price to consumers after the rule had gone into effect, according to the commission’s complaint. In specific, StubHub failed to show total prices for highly-demanded NFL tickets ahead of May 14, 2025, when the season schedule was announced.
The ticketing platform must use the $10 million to refund consumers and is prohibited from misrepresenting the price of any good, service, fee or charge. The order also states that StubHub must explain why the fee or charge is being imposed in the total ticket pricing.
StubHub must refund customers within 90 days of the order. According to the news release, the two groups eligible are consumers who bought tickets for live events in the U.S. between May 12, 2025 and May 14, 2025. The first group includes those whose total price was not properly disclosed in the initial pricing display, while the second group encompasses consumers who bought tickets during that window.