Other
TICKET Act
Ticket sellers and resale platforms would be required to show the total price of a ticket—including all service fees and taxes—upfront, along with an itemized breakdown before checkout. The bill also bans sellers from offering tickets they do not actually own and stops resale websites from pretending to be official venue or artist sites. Additionally, consumers would be entitled to a full refund if an event is canceled or if it is postponed for more than six months.
People affected—The text applies broadly to consumers and vendors of events exceeding 200 persons, but provides no population count or estimate of ticket purchasers.
Fiscal magnitude—The operative text contains no specific appropriations, fee structures, or explicit budget authorizations.
Reach58provisional · pending reviewrigor: heuristic llm
What this bill touches.
Market protections+55Regulation (cross-sector)+42
Who it helps · who it burdens.
Who it helps
- event ticket buyersGains the right to see all-inclusive total ticket pricing from the initial display through checkout, receive itemized fee breakdowns before purchase, know if a ticket is a resale ticket, be shielded from speculative ticket sales, and receive mandatory refunds or replacement tickets if an event is canceled or postponed (Sec. 2, 3, 4, and 5).
- event venues, sports teams, and performing artistsProtected from ticket sellers and resellers claiming false affiliation, endorsement, or 'official' status without written consent, and protected from unauthorized use of venue names in ticket website domain names (Sec. 4(2)-(3)).
Who it burdens
- primary and secondary ticket sellers and ticket marketplacesMust display all-inclusive ticket prices upfront in all ads and listings, itemize fees before purchase, disclose resale status and refund rules, refrain from selling unpossessed tickets, and provide full refunds or comparable replacement tickets for canceled or postponed events, subject to FTC enforcement (Sec. 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7).
- Federal Trade CommissionMandated to prepare and submit a report to Congress within six months evaluating enforcement of the BOTS Act and recommendations for industry compliance, and tasked with enforcing the Act's ticketing rules as unfair or deceptive trade practices (Sec. 6 and 7).
Who opposes it
- speculative ticket sellersExplicitly bars sellers and ticket exchanges from listing, advertising, or selling event tickets that they do not have actual or constructive possession of (Sec. 3(a)).