This book presents an ethnographic study of contemporary ticket touts in the
UK. Despite the recent interest in the topic of black-market ticket sales, media
coverage and parliamentary interventions over the last ten years have revealed a
widespread lack of knowledge with regard to the phenomenon of touting and
the players engaging in the practice. The Rise and Rise of Illegal Ticket Touting
sheds light on the world of touting and delivers an authentic picture of the
individuals involved, of their methods, values, and motivations for performing
ticket touting as an organised, entrepreneurial deviant activity.
The touts’ varied methods of buying and selling tickets, the hierarchical
structures and strict ethos of their criminal organisations, and their specific modi
operandi for evading detection and arrest both on the streets and online are focal
points of the study. Of equal importance are the touts’ attitudes, perceptions, and
adaptations to (or outright dismissal of) society’s legal and moral frameworks.
This book illuminates why historic and renewed attempts to challenge ticket
touting have been unsuccessful, focusing on inadequate legislation, a lack of
enforcement, and the widespread corruption and exploitable loopholes that
exist within the official, primary ticket market.