When Mark Gallagher from Vancouver visited StubHub in February to purchase World Cup tickets, he believed he was buying from a fellow fan who couldn’t attend the event. Describing StubHub as a trustworthy platform for purchasing resale tickets from individual sellers, Gallagher expressed surprise upon learning that the online ticket company is operated by a major scalper and financially supports other large-scale resellers utilizing the platform.
With a reported $9.2 billion US in ticket transactions in 2025, StubHub, a key player in the resale industry, has faced scrutiny for canceling numerous World Cup orders. This led to investigations by Consumer Protection BC, the Texas attorney general, and the initiation of two class-action lawsuits in the U.S.
While StubHub asserts itself as a conduit for independent buyers and sellers akin to eBay, recent filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission reveal that CEO Eric Baker not only oversees the massive resale platform but also holds ownership in Andro Capital, a fund that sells millions of dollars worth of tickets on StubHub.
Despite requests for an interview about his companies and the apparent conflict between StubHub’s mass scalping activities and its portrayal as a “marketplace for fans,” both Baker and StubHub declined to speak with CBC. The disclosure that StubHub collaborates with an affiliate of Baker’s fund to support other scalpers has raised concerns about the company’s public image and marketing integrity.
The domination of mass scalpers in the resale ticket market has significantly impacted fans, artists, and venues. Industry analyses indicate that a small number of corporations control the majority of tickets on global resale platforms like StubHub, amplifying prices and disadvantaging regular fans.
Acknowledging the exploitative nature of the ticket resale industry, Live Nation’s executive vice-president, Dan Wall, acknowledged that professional scalpers and fans can post tickets for resale on Ticketmaster, Live Nation’s primary box office company. However, the practice has garnered criticism for compromising the artist-fan relationship when conducted on a large scale.
Christopher MacDonald, a business professor at Toronto’s Metropolitan University, highlighted the detrimental impact of having to purchase tickets from large-scale scalpers on the overall fan experience. He emphasized the industrial-scale nature of scalping as a significant interference in the connection between artists and their audience.
As debates on the ethics and practices within the ticket resale industry continue, stakeholders, including fans and industry experts, are calling for more transparency and accountability to address the challenges posed by mass scalping activities.