Illinois to ban automated ticket scalping, reselling ‘ghost tickets’

By Sean Reed | The Center Square
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – A bipartisan effort to protect eventgoers from fraudulent tickets and online ticket scams made its way through the Illinois General Assembly before the Spring legislative session concluded. A correlating bill that passed would also make online ticket scalping illegal in the state.

Both bills were led by Rep. Nabeela Syed, D-Palatine, in the House. House Bill 4984 prohibits ticketsellers and resellers from offering the sale of a ticket they do not-yet possess – which is often an issue with third-party ticketsellers.

The other, Senate Bill 318 effectively prohibits ticket scalping, or the use of automated bot systems to buy up a large number of tickets for an event, such as concerts or sports games.

According to Syed, the issue was something she recognized heavily impacted residents of the state in 2022, when Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour” came to Chicago. Since then, she noted, more issues similar in nature had come to her attention.

In fact, she said the event ticketing market has seen negative impacts from the very largest events and venues, all the way down to independently owned and operated venues.

“Some of these venues are so small that all their tickets are getting bought up by a bot and sold it up at a higher price,” Syed said. “Sometimes their venues will be left completely empty because the bot is trying to sell them at this higher markup that people don’t want to pay or can afford.”

The lawmaker mentioned Chris Bauman, owner of multiple venues who spoke in favor of the legislation to a House committee.

Bauman shared his experience attending the Illinois High School Basketball State Championship with his son. Despite the event being sold out, he was able to get them through a third party seller.

“We walk into Assembly Hall. The place is empty,” Bauman said. “Empty because all the tickets have been bought by scalpers, and they had the prices so high that no one bought them, and they never lowered the prices.”

While a venue’s tickets may technically be sold out, only to sit on a webpage for a markup, businesses and communities are still left worse off, Syed said.

One sizable portion of revenue for many spaces is the additional sale of food, drinks, and merchandise – all of which cannot be bought by nonexistent ticketholders, which also means less sales tax revenue.

When someone pays for a ticket that doesn’t exist, a similar problem occurs. A person is often turned away at the door, out a few hundred dollars, Syed said. The state and local governments also don’t see sales tax that would be brought in from a legitimate purchase.

“These independent venues in our communities are really struggling. This is one of the many issues that are affecting the industry. It is important that as a state, we do our best to revitalize these industries because they’re one within our community,” Syed said.

The lawmaker noted that she had strong bipartisan support from her colleagues since the measure was introduced, which is reflected in unanimous floor votes in both the House and Senate.

Syed also told The Center Square that the laws also aren’t toothless, encouraging consumers and venues to report both scalping and fraudulent ticket sales.

“We are now putting it in the consumer fraud and deceptive practices act, which means that someone could file a report with the attorney general’s office,” Syed said. “An individual can sue someone for this, which is not something that was possible prior to this legislation.”

Once signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker, both laws would take effect immediately. Anyone that falls victim to a scam ticket sale or venues that believe their tickets may have been scalped can file an official complaint with the Attorney General’s office, which will investigate.

Illinois to ban automated ticket scalping, reselling ‘ghost tickets’

060926 TICKET FRAUD

IRN

Sean Reed

TICKET FRAUD Version 1 (no wrap)

A bipartisan effort to protect eventgoers from fraudulent tickets and online ticket scams made its way through the Illinois General Assembly before the Spring legislative session concluded.

Led by Rep. Nabeela Syed, D-Palatine, the bill prohibits ticketsellers and resellers from offering the sale of a ticket they do not-yet possess – which is often an issue with third-party ticketsellers.

According to Syed, the issue was something she recognized heavily impacted residents of the state in 2022, when Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour” came to Chicago. Since then, she noted, more issues similar in nature had come to her attention.

TICKET FRAUD 1a :– seconds, outcue: [Syed] … “affecting the industry.”

The lawmaker noted that she had strong bipartisan support from her colleagues since the measure was introduced, which is reflected in unanimous floor votes in both the House and Senate.

Syed also said the law isn’t toothless, encouraging consumers and venues to report both scalping and fraudulent ticket sales.

TICKET FRAUD 1b :– seconds, outcue: [Syed] … “prior to this legislation.”

Once signed into law by the governor, residents that fall victim to a ticket reselling scam will be able to report it to the Illinois attorney general, which will then investigate the matter.

TICKET FRAUD Version 1 (with wrap)

A bipartisan effort to protect eventgoers from fraudulent tickets and online ticket scams made its way through the Illinois General Assembly before the Spring legislative session concluded. Sean Reed has the story…

TICKET FRAUD WRAPv1 :– seconds

TICKET FRAUD Version 2 (no wrap)

Two bills focusing on protecting Illinoisans from fraudulent practices when buying event tickets passed the General Assembly and just await a signature from the governor before becoming law.

Both bills were led by Rep. Nabeela Syed, the first would prohibit ticketsellers and resellers from offering the sale of a ticket they do not-yet possess. The other makes it illegal to conduct ticket scalping – or the use of automated bot systems to buy up a large number of tickets for an event.

She said the event ticketing market has seen negative impacts from the very largest events and venues, all the way down to independently owned and operated venues.

TICKET FRAUD 2 :– seconds, outcue: [Syed] … “or can afford.”

Chris Bauman, owner of multiple venues, told lawmakers about attending the Illinois High School Basketball State Championship with his son. Despite the event being sold out, he was able to get them through a third party seller.

TICKET FRAUD 2 :– seconds, outcue: [Bauman] … “lowered the prices..”

While a venue’s tickets may technically be sold out, only to sit on a webpage for a markup, businesses and communities are still left worse off, Syed said.

One sizable portion of revenue for many spaces is the additional sale of food, drinks, and merchandise – all of which cannot be bought by nonexistent ticketholders, which also means less sales tax revenue.

The bill, which passed both the House and Senate unanimously, just needs a signature from the governor before it becomes law.

TICKET FRAUD Version 2 (with wrap)

Two bills focusing on protecting Illinoisans from fraudulent practices when buying event tickets passed the General Assembly and just await a signature from the governor before becoming law. Sean Reed reports…

TICKET FRAUD WRAPv2 :– seconds

TICKET FRAUD

BRIEF

(The Center Square) – A bipartisan effort to protect eventgoers from fraudulent tickets and online ticket scams made its way through the Illinois General Assembly before the Spring legislative session concluded. A correlating bill that passed would also make online ticket scalping illegal in the state.

Both bills were led by Rep. Nabeela Syed, D-Palatine, in the House. House Bill 4984 prohibits ticketsellers and resellers from offering the sale of a ticket they do not-yet possess – which is often an issue with third-party ticketsellers.

The other, Senate Bill 318 effectively prohibits ticket scalping, or the use of automated bot systems to buy up a large number of tickets for an event, such as concerts or sports games.

According to Syed, the issue was something she recognized heavily impacted residents of the state in 2022, when Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour” came to Chicago. Since then, she noted, more issues similar in nature had come to her attention.

In fact, she said the event ticketing market has seen negative impacts from the very largest events and venues, all the way down to independently owned and operated venues.

“Some of these venues are so small that all their tickets are getting bought up by a bot and sold it up at a higher price,” Syed said. “Sometimes their venues will be left completely empty because the bot is trying to sell them at this higher markup that people don’t want to pay or can afford.”

The lawmaker mentioned Chris Bauman, owner of multiple venues who spoke in favor of the legislation to a House committee.

Bauman shared his experience attending the Illinois High School Basketball State Championship with his son. Despite the event being sold out, he was able to get them through a third party seller.

“We walk into Assembly Hall. The place is empty,” Bauman said. “Empty because all the tickets have been bought by scalpers, and they had the prices so high that no one bought them, and they never lowered the prices.”

While a venue’s tickets may technically be sold out, only to sit on a webpage for a markup, businesses and communities are still left worse off, Syed said.

One sizable portion of revenue for many spaces is the additional sale of food, drinks, and merchandise – all of which cannot be bought by nonexistent ticketholders, which also means less sales tax revenue.

When someone pays for a ticket that doesn’t exist, a similar problem occurs. A person is often turned away at the door, out a few hundred dollars, Syed said. The state and local governments also don’t see sales tax that would be brought in from a legitimate purchase.

“These independent venues in our communities are really struggling. This is one of the many issues that are affecting the industry. It is important that as a state, we do our best to revitalize these industries because they’re one within our community,” Syed said.

The lawmaker noted that she had strong bipartisan support from her colleagues since the measure was introduced, which is reflected in unanimous floor votes in both the House and Senate.

Syed also told The Center Square that the laws also aren’t toothless, encouraging consumers and venues to report both scalping and fraudulent ticket sales.

“We are now putting it in the consumer fraud and deceptive practices act, which means that someone could file a report with the attorney general’s office,” Syed said. “An individual can sue someone for this, which is not something that was possible prior to this legislation.”

Once signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker, both laws would take effect immediately. Anyone that falls victim to a scam ticket sale or venues that believe their tickets may have been scalped can file an official complaint with the Attorney General’s office, which will investigate.