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The Ministry of Sports issued regulations on October 26 that limit ticket sales and resale for all sporting events to event organisers and platforms it has accredited. These rules ban unauthorised trading along with hidden fees and misleading pricing as part of broader oversight of the ticketing sector. Greater transparency is now required in the display of ticket prices, any additional charges and refund policies according to the ministry.
Prohibitions on automated software or the use of multiple accounts to evade purchase limits form a central element of the new framework. Tickets must be linked to buyers’ identities with restrictions placed on the number of tickets any individual can acquire. Such steps seek to ensure equitable access and reduce secondary market abuses that have affected major events.
Accredited platforms are required to respect venue capacity limits while meeting cybersecurity standards and personal data protection requirements. Secure transaction systems capable of managing periods of peak demand are mandatory under the regulations. Platforms must also maintain documented procedures for addressing complaints, cancellations and refunds the ministry stated in its announcement.
A ticketing platform accreditation service will open on the ministry’s Riyadhi Platform on November 15. Existing operators have been granted 90 days from the regulations’ issuance to achieve compliance with all technical and regulatory specifications. This grace period is intended to allow orderly adjustment across the sector.
The measures coincide with rapid expansion in Saudi Arabia’s sports market under the Vision 2030 programme. A PwC Middle East report forecast that the sector would triple in value to $22.4 billion by 2030. Growth has been driven by major infrastructure projects, professional league reforms and a significant rise in international hosting commitments.
Arab News reported that the sports sector reached approximately $8.5 billion in recent valuations after starting from $1.3 billion in 2016. The number of sports federations increased to 98 in 2024 from 32 in 2015 while multi-sport clubs rose to 126 from nine in 2019. Participation in weekly sports or physical activity has climbed to 48 percent of the Saudi population according to the same assessment.
