UK watchdog fines StubHub UK, orders refunds to 50,000 fans over hidden ticket fees

(Refiles to change headline to StubHub UK from StubHub)

LONDON, June 23 (Reuters) - Britain's competition regulator fined ticket resale platform StubHub UK £900,000 ($1.19 million) on Tuesday and ordered it to refund more than 50,000 customers for illegally hiding mandatory fees from fans buying tickets for gigs and sports events.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said some customers who bought tickets between April 6 and December 7 last year had to pay delivery and service fees that were not included in the total price from the start, which broke consumer law.

They will receive refunds of around £10 per transaction onto the cards used to buy the tickets, the CMA said.

The CMA received strengthened consumer powers in April 2025 to tackle hidden fees as well as other unlawful online pricing practices.

StubHub UK is part of StubHub International, created when StubHub was acquired by Viagogo in 2021 to meet regulatory requirements.

StubHub International is owned by Digital Fuel Capital and functions separately from StubHub North America, according to the company's website.

($1 = 0.7556 pounds)

(Reporting by Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru and Paul Sandle in London; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala; editing by Sarah Young)