IT experts say there is a “huge possibility” that high numbers of Oasis tickets a re being purchased by computer bots at once.

Ticket re-sellers often use automated software to buy more tickets for events than they are allowed, only to sell them on at higher prices.

Oasis fans also reported being hit with website outage issues while trying to book shows on Saturday.

Jake Moore, global cybersecurity adviser at software security firm Eset said some groups have the right software and knowledge to manipulate ticket websites, and even use bots to “swoop in and purchase high numbers of tickets at once”.

He told the PA news agency: “Being the next series of concerts since the demand for Taylor Swift tickets, I would suggest there would be a huge possibility of bots being used to swoop in.”

Many people used social media to say that they had been suspended from the Ticketmaster website as they were assumed to be a bot.

Liam Gallagher (left) and Noel Gallagher
Oasis delighted fans with the news this week they are heading back on the road in 2025 (Image: PA)

Mr Moore said: “Bots mimic the activity of real users and even manipulate their location using off-the-shelf software such as a VPN.

“This is usually counteracted using bot detection software but this can often produce false positives when real users are assumed to be bots themselves.”

It comes as ticket reseller Viagogo has defended having Oasis tickets on sale for inflated prices on its platform as a “legal” practice following the Britpop band warning concertgoers that passes bought outside of the official websites Ticketmaster and Twickets will be cancelled.

Cris Miller, Viagogo global managing director, said in a statement to the PA news agency: “This is a dream event anticipated by millions worldwide.

“Our number-one tip for fans using secondary marketplaces is to continue to check prices outside of the first few weeks of sale.

“Demand will be at its peak when tickets hit the on-sale but it’s not a normal reflection of what tickets can and will go for. Just this summer tickets for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in the UK sold on our platform for as low as £80.

Liam and Noel Gallagher
Oasis Performing At Westpoint Arena, Exeter, Britain – Sep 1997, Oasis, Liam And Noel Gallagher (Photo by Brian Rasic/Getty Images) (Image: Getty)

“In the case of Oasis – a highly anticipated event – we saw the primary sites struggling to manage demand even before the on-sale, and site crashes.

“We know fans are frustrated with the process and we know there is a better way. We continue to support industry collaboration to ensure the entire ticketing market works for fans and the live entertainment industry.

“Resale is legal in the UK and fans are always protected by our guarantee that they will receive their tickets in time for the event or their money back.”

Industry expert Adam Leon Smith of BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT, said the inevitable popularity of the Oasis reunion was “bound” to lead to website glitches.

Mr Leon Smith said using automated tools or bots is the “most common way” of making money from tickets in 2024.

Asked how websites can combat this, he said: “There are techniques for detecting and stopping bots, but there are also techniques for evading detection.

“Like many areas of cybersecurity there is a constant arms race between attackers and defenders, an arms race where AI has upped the ante.”

Oasis lead singer Liam Gallagher and brother Noal Gallagher at the opening night of Steve Coogan's comedy show in the West End, London.
Oasis will play three nights in Edinburgh next summer (Image: Dave Hogan/Getty Images)

Adam Webb, of campaign group FanFair Alliance, said it is “really hard” to know how many tickets are being purchased by touts because there is a “lack of transparency” on reselling websites.

He went on: “There’ll be an awful lot of listings.

“I suspect that people won’t have actually bought the tickets and they’re listing them for sale.”

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