Legislation (S.9461/A.10500) Will Increase Transparency During Ticket-Buying Process by Banning Hidden Fees for Live Events
Bill To Expand Penalties for Use of Purchasing Software, Sales of Free Tickets, and More
Governor Kathy Hochul on June 30th signed legislation (S.9461/A.10500) targeting unfair, anti-consumer ticketing practices in the live event industry. The bill will increase transparency for consumers purchasing tickets to live events by banning hidden fees. Additionally, the bill will expand penalties for use of scalper bots and ticket purchasing software, outlaw the sale of free tickets, and prohibit delivery fees on tickets that are delivered electronically or printed at home.
“Live entertainment has long been a critical sector in our economy, and as consumers and the industry recover from the pandemic, it is important that we make the ticket-buying experience easier and more transparent,” Governor Hochul said. “This bill will expand penalties for malicious ticketing practices that have made live events inaccessible to New Yorkers for too long. Today, we are taking an important step towards ensuring that every New Yorker has a fair opportunity to enjoy the unique arts and cultural experiences that our state has to offer.”
This bill extends and updates New York’s “Ticketing Law” by incorporating policy recommendations from a 2020-21 legislative investigation into the state’s live event ticket industry due to concerns about potentially unfair, deceptive, and anti-consumer practices occurring in the primary and secondary markets.
The bill will increase civil fines for the use of ticket purchasing software and require sellers and resellers of tickets to disclose the total cost of a ticket clearly and conspicuously. Additionally, the bill will prohibit delivery fees on tickets printed at home and ban the sale of tickets that were originally distributed for free. These new measures will
