The Federal Trade Commission filed a bombshell lawsuit against Ticketmaster on Thursday, accusing the web broker of raking in profits through exorbitant fees and turning a blind eye as bots illegally resell tens of millions of tickets to customers.
The FTC is searching for billions of dollars in penalties under the BOTS Act, which allows fines of $53,000 per violation.
The agency’s lawsuit alleges that Ticketmaster has allowed bots to resell tens of millions of tickets beyond the acquisition limits it publicly announced because the BOTS Act took effect.
Which means Ticketmaster in theory could face astronomical fines that might cripple the corporate – in addition to potential future refund payments to consumers if it loses the case and is found to have harmed consumers, sources said.
“The entire amount of fines are potentially within the a whole lot of billions of dollars,” a source near the situation said.
Filed in California federal court, the lawsuit accuses Ticketmaster, a subsidiary of Live Nation, of sweeping violations of the Higher Online Ticket Sales Act, or BOTS Act. The FTC has jurisdiction over the 2016 law, which bans the usage of bots to purchase tickets in bulk – a typical tactic that enables resellers to jack up prices.
The grievance accuses Ticketmaster of misleading customers by listing deceptively low ticket prices when customers seek for events on its website – only to jack up prices at checkout with mandatory fees that sometimes reach 30% or more of the initial price.
“It shouldn’t cost an arm and a leg to take the family to a baseball game, or attend your favorite musician’s show,” FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said in an announcement. “The Trump-Vance FTC is working hard to be sure that fans have a shot at buying fair-priced tickets and today’s lawsuit is a monumental step in that direction.”
The FTC also accused Ticketmaster of allowing third-party brokers to exceed ticket purchase limits set meant to make sure fair access to popular events, at the same time as they publicly claimed the boundaries were being enforced. Consequently, customers haven’t any selection but to pay inflated prices on the secondary market in the event that they wish to attend.
The FTC filed the lawsuit after settlement talks between Ferguson’s office and Ticketmaster officials went nowhere last week, a source near the situation.
The lawsuit was a direct results of President Trump’s executive order in March instructing the agency to establish enforcement of the BOTS Act, the source added.
Trump signed the order at an Oval Office event alongside musician Kid Rock, who has called for a crackdown on scalpers who sell tickets “sometimes a 500 percent markup.”
From 2019 to 2024, customers spent greater than $82.6 billion on tickets brokered by Ticketmaster, based on the FTC.
The FTC’s lawsuit alleges that Ticketmaster is incentivized to permit the bot activity since it profits from fees and markups when the tickets are resold on its platform. The corporate can be accused of failing to deploy higher technology to crack down on bots because doing so would decrease revenue.
Live Nation has publicly expressed support for the Trump-led crackdown on higher prices, saying in an announcement in March that it supports “any meaningful resale reforms — including more enforcement of the BOTS act, caps on resale prices, and more.”
Lawmakers from each parties have called for a crackdown on Ticketmaster in recent times amid a web based uproar over surging ticket prices and alleged predatory practices. The corporate has been singled out since it controls a large share – as much as 70% to 80%, based on some experts – of the first ticket sale market.
In recent times, Ticketmaster was crushed by critics for mishandling sales of Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour,” with Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn calling Live Nation’s inability to cope with its bot problem “unbelievable.” The incident sparked a wave of lawsuits from disgruntled “Swifties.”
Last 12 months, the Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit accusing Live Nation of operating an illegal monopoly and searching for to interrupt up its control of Ticketmaster.
“This case wouldn’t have happened without President Donald Trump’s leadership,” FTC spokesman Joe Simonson said in an announcement. “Other politicians discuss helping out atypical Americans, but this President means it. Americans deserve a good price once they wish to go to a baseball game or hear some live music, and the Trump-Vance FTC is working to make that occur.”
In August, the FTC sued ticket reseller Key Investment Group for allegedly using bots to snap up tickets to popular events, including Swift concert events, and resell them at high prices.
Key has denied wrongdoing and said each it and Ticketmaster comply with the BOTS Act.
The Federal Trade Commission filed a bombshell lawsuit against Ticketmaster on Thursday, accusing the web broker of raking in profits through exorbitant fees and turning a blind eye as bots illegally resell tens of millions of tickets to customers.
The FTC is searching for billions of dollars in penalties under the BOTS Act, which allows fines of $53,000 per violation.
The agency’s lawsuit alleges that Ticketmaster has allowed bots to resell tens of millions of tickets beyond the acquisition limits it publicly announced because the BOTS Act took effect.
Which means Ticketmaster in theory could face astronomical fines that might cripple the corporate – in addition to potential future refund payments to consumers if it loses the case and is found to have harmed consumers, sources said.
“The entire amount of fines are potentially within the a whole lot of billions of dollars,” a source near the situation said.
Filed in California federal court, the lawsuit accuses Ticketmaster, a subsidiary of Live Nation, of sweeping violations of the Higher Online Ticket Sales Act, or BOTS Act. The FTC has jurisdiction over the 2016 law, which bans the usage of bots to purchase tickets in bulk – a typical tactic that enables resellers to jack up prices.
The grievance accuses Ticketmaster of misleading customers by listing deceptively low ticket prices when customers seek for events on its website – only to jack up prices at checkout with mandatory fees that sometimes reach 30% or more of the initial price.
“It shouldn’t cost an arm and a leg to take the family to a baseball game, or attend your favorite musician’s show,” FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said in an announcement. “The Trump-Vance FTC is working hard to be sure that fans have a shot at buying fair-priced tickets and today’s lawsuit is a monumental step in that direction.”
The FTC also accused Ticketmaster of allowing third-party brokers to exceed ticket purchase limits set meant to make sure fair access to popular events, at the same time as they publicly claimed the boundaries were being enforced. Consequently, customers haven’t any selection but to pay inflated prices on the secondary market in the event that they wish to attend.
The FTC filed the lawsuit after settlement talks between Ferguson’s office and Ticketmaster officials went nowhere last week, a source near the situation.
The lawsuit was a direct results of President Trump’s executive order in March instructing the agency to establish enforcement of the BOTS Act, the source added.
Trump signed the order at an Oval Office event alongside musician Kid Rock, who has called for a crackdown on scalpers who sell tickets “sometimes a 500 percent markup.”
From 2019 to 2024, customers spent greater than $82.6 billion on tickets brokered by Ticketmaster, based on the FTC.
The FTC’s lawsuit alleges that Ticketmaster is incentivized to permit the bot activity since it profits from fees and markups when the tickets are resold on its platform. The corporate can be accused of failing to deploy higher technology to crack down on bots because doing so would decrease revenue.
Live Nation has publicly expressed support for the Trump-led crackdown on higher prices, saying in an announcement in March that it supports “any meaningful resale reforms — including more enforcement of the BOTS act, caps on resale prices, and more.”
Lawmakers from each parties have called for a crackdown on Ticketmaster in recent times amid a web based uproar over surging ticket prices and alleged predatory practices. The corporate has been singled out since it controls a large share – as much as 70% to 80%, based on some experts – of the first ticket sale market.
In recent times, Ticketmaster was crushed by critics for mishandling sales of Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour,” with Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn calling Live Nation’s inability to cope with its bot problem “unbelievable.” The incident sparked a wave of lawsuits from disgruntled “Swifties.”
Last 12 months, the Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit accusing Live Nation of operating an illegal monopoly and searching for to interrupt up its control of Ticketmaster.
“This case wouldn’t have happened without President Donald Trump’s leadership,” FTC spokesman Joe Simonson said in an announcement. “Other politicians discuss helping out atypical Americans, but this President means it. Americans deserve a good price once they wish to go to a baseball game or hear some live music, and the Trump-Vance FTC is working to make that occur.”
In August, the FTC sued ticket reseller Key Investment Group for allegedly using bots to snap up tickets to popular events, including Swift concert events, and resell them at high prices.
Key has denied wrongdoing and said each it and Ticketmaster comply with the BOTS Act.
