Ticket scalping bots are in the crosshairs of state lawmakers nationwide following public outrage over stiff prices on sites like
State lawmakers in more than a half-dozen states have introduced bills this year that would target abuses in the ticketing industry with varying approaches to enforcement. The state-level action follows lax federal enforcement of the 2016 Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act.
An all-out ban on ticket resales is the best way to quell the bots and other abuses, Maryland Rep. CT Wilson (D) argued at a Feb. 20 hearing about legislation he has introduced.
His bill would strike at the bots’ profit motive by banning ticket resales above the original price. “I don’t think you should make a profit off of these resales,” said Wilson in an interview.
The Iowa Senate approved legislation (SB 2269) Feb. 26 that would ban bots, software that rapidly buys tickets up before the public has time to purchase them.
In Pennsylvania, the House of Representatives passed a similar bill (HB 1378) last year and it is pending in the state Senate. There are more than a dozen states overall with various measures in place to curtail abuses.
A key part of any plan to battle bots and other abuses is making sure laws are followed, according to John Breyault, a vice president of public policy at the advocacy group National Consumers League.
“Any protection law is only as strong as its enforcement,” said Breyault.
Federal Inaction
The Federal Trade Commission has little to show for on violations of the BOTS Act since the ban on ticket-buying bots took effect in 2017.
Enforcement has been lacking. Three 2021 settlements totaling $31 million, which involved three New York-based ticket brokers, are the only actions under the law announced by the agency, which didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Barriers exist for the FTC when it comes to investigating potential abuse, such as a lack of mandatory reporting requirements for ticket vendors who spot potential bot activity, said Breyault.
“The FTC has not enforced the BOT Act because of any lack of will on their part but because they are not getting the evidence they need,” said Breyault.
Enforcement
Banning ticket bots hasn’t eradicated them in at least 14 states with existing laws. Those vary in enforcement.
Some of those states are now aiming to beef up oversight.
The New York legislature is considering a bill (SB 4923) that would incentivize members of the public to report suspected abuse to the state attorney general by giving them a 5% bounty of any civil penalties collected.
The bill would also require ticket sellers like Ticketmaster, which didn’t respond to a request for comment, to report suspected abuse to the state attorney general.
Other states are stepping up. Pennsylvania would allow lawsuits against violators to pursue damages of at least $1,000 per ticket under a bill awaiting action by the state Senate. Performers, their agents, and venue operators would be explicitly authorized to seek such legal action, according to the bill.
Legislation (SB 2269) approved Feb. 14 by an Iowa Senate committee would authorize penalties of up to $100,000 for illegal bot operators.
In Maryland, Wilson is betting that the state can eliminate bad actors by banning ticket resales for profit with the state attorney general imposing fines on violators. A pending Hawaii measure (SB 367) takes a similar approach.
Some acts are implementing such practices on their own. Rock bands such as Pearl Jam and The Cure have required their ticketing partners to allow resales only for the face value for tickets.
Critics of Wilson’s approach said battling the bots by removing the profit motive would unfairly keep ordinary people from making money reselling tickets while running counter to a decades-long trend of states loosening longstanding restrictions on ticket resales.
“It is not the solution,” said Laura Dooley, head of global government relations at StubHub, of Wilson’s proposal. Dooley added that the company was open to bills that “provide more transparency, more control, and more choice for ticket buyers.”
Beyond the Bots
Automated ticket buying isn’t the only reason ticket prices have skyrocketed, said Breyault.
States could enact laws to require ticket brokers to have licenses or crack down on the practice of them being able to reserve tickets as “holdbacks” at venues for later sale, said Breyault. Those efforts could curb price increases, he added.
New York state Sen. James Skoufis (D) included a provision in his bill to require ticket sellers to disclose the number of tickets for sale to the public. His proposal would also limit the withholding of tickets for initial sale to no more than 10% of all event seating.
Implementing such rules would have “a shaming effect” on the artist,” said Skoufis.
“If rabid fans of, say, Taylor Swift are trying to get one of these sacrosanct tickets to one of her shows and find out that in that 40,000-seat arena 15,000 of the tickets are being set aside,” said Skoufis, they’re going to get “pretty pissed off.”
More states such as Arizona (HB 2194) are likely to pursue such actions this year, especially considering that at least 25 states considered bills in 2023 targeting ticket price abuses, according to an analysis by the National Conference of State Legislatures.
The sponsor of the federal law banning bots, Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY), said the federal government needs additional enforcement help from the states to keep event tickets affordable for the public.
“I applaud the recent movement by states to try to empower consumers and address the unfair practices of cyber bots,” said Tonko. “Without enforcement, bot operators will continue to act with impunity to snap up tickets and other products.”
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