CAMP Statement on StubHub and Ticketing Market Failures

June 24 2026 [Ottawa, ON] – The Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project is calling for stronger competition and consumer protection enforcement following reports of StubHub customers paying for tickets they were told were guaranteed, only to discover at the last second that those tickets may not have existed.

“This is what we should expect when concentrated and opaque ticketing markets are left under-policed,” said Keldon Bester, Executive Director of the Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project. “Consumers pay thousands for tickets they are told are guaranteed, only to find out at the last second that the tickets never existed in the first place. A marketplace should not be able to take money for seats a seller does not control, market them as guaranteed, and leave consumers outside the venue fighting for refunds while their favourite team hits the field.”

“The Competition Bureau should be taking a hard look at this under its deceptive marketing provisions as soon as possible. Misleading actions like this need appropriate penalties to deter future deception. At the same time, provinces should be using their consumer protection authorities to make clear that this kind of conduct is offside at both levels of government.”

CAMP sees the StubHub issue as part of a larger problem in live events and ticketing: concentrated gatekeepers, weak transparency, and too much risk being pushed onto fans. These failures sit alongside a wider pattern of regulatory concern about how resale platforms present prices, guarantees, and consumer protections.

Canadians should be able to trust that when a platform sells them a guaranteed ticket, that guarantee means something. The fix has to include stronger competition and consumer protection enforcement, clearer rules against deceptive conduct, and real accountability for platforms that profit from these transactions.