Hada News
Saudi entertainment regulator takes comments until 14 November on the fees it would charge for licences and on a cut of every ticket sold
The General Entertainment Authority's draft sets licence and permit fees and a percentage levy on ticket sales; the law behind it caps that levy at 10% of each ticket.
Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority (GEA) has posted a draft regulation on the fees it would charge the entertainment sector, with public comments open on the government's Istitlaa consultation platform until 14 November 2026, according to the consultation listing tracked by the Saudi compliance service Bawadir.
The draft, published on 15 October, is meant to set what it costs to issue, renew, amend, suspend or cancel licences, permits and accreditation certificates for entertainment and supporting activities. It would also set a percentage-based fee on tickets sold for entertainment events. The listing says the regulation gives effect to Article 7 of the Saudi law governing entertainment and its supporting activities.
The ceiling already in law. In a briefing on the new law, the firm Bird & Bird writes that the GEA may collect a share of ticket sales of no more than 10% of each ticket's value, with the detail left to a regulation. The draft now open for comment is that regulation. Hada could not open the draft itself, because the Istitlaa site did not load from our systems, so the percentage it proposes is not reported here.
Who is affected. Event organisers, venue operators and ticketing platforms are the obvious payers. For screen and stage, the rule matters wherever a cinema event, live show or touring production is licensed as entertainment by the GEA.
Why it matters: the ticket levy is set by percentage, so its cost rises with the price of every seat sold. The comment window is the stage at which the industry can respond before the text is approved.