Michigan House of Representatives passes bill to combat ticket smuggling • Michigan Advance
Michigan House of Representatives passed two bills on Wednesday that would make it easier to get tickets to Taylor Swift’s next performance at Ford Field or other high-profile concerts or sporting events in the state.
Many ticket purchasing platforms, including Ticketmaster, have set caps on the number of tickets a person can buy. The bills would make it illegal for people to use technology or software to circumvent these caps. This is usually done to buy tickets with the intention of reselling them at higher prices.
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This can make it more difficult for people to get affordable tickets to a concert or live event.
“The rise in online ticket sales has unfortunately been accompanied by an increase in the use of bots to bypass security measures and buy tickets in bulk, often at the expense of fans,” said Rep. Mike McFall (D-Hazel Park), who sponsored one of the bills. “This practice not only drives up prices, but also denies many people the opportunity to attend their favorite events.”
One of the most famous cases of black market fraud was the advance booking of the Taylor Swift Eras tour. Ticketmaster had to cancel public sales because of the volume of people, including bots, attempting to access the site during the presale. The tickets were dubbed “Taylor Swift” tickets by sponsors McFall and Rep. Graham Filler (R-St. Johns).
The bills banning scalping technology and imposing fines for its use were passed with bipartisan support. HB5661 106 to 4 adopted and HB5662 was passed by a vote of 98 to 12. The bills will now be forwarded to the Senate.
Violations of HB 5661 will result in a fine of up to $5,000 per ticket, which will be paid into the state general fund.
Ticketmaster, StubHub and Vivid Seats have agreed to support the legislation, Filler told the Advance payment in an interview on Friday.
“These bot companies are making everyone look bad,” Filler said. “They’re creating a bad customer experience, and that’s causing people to go on Twitter and complain about Ticketmaster.”
Although the development of scalping technology is illegal at the federal level, give the Attorney General more powers to investigate allegationsThe Federal Trade Commission, which enforces the BOTS Act of 2016, recently launched a crackdown on three cases in 2021.
“The federal BOTS law was a step in the right direction, but its enforcement was lacking, and no cases have been brought since at least 2021,” McFall said. “The goal of these bills is to close that enforcement gap at the state level.”
Filler told the Advance payment that these bills also give the Attorney General direct authority to investigate bot allegations to prevent companies from claiming the state has no authority in the matter.
Other states have passed their own laws to restrict ticket sales, including banning the use of bots or prohibiting tickets from being sold at a significantly higher price than the original purchase price. If Michigan’s bill passes, Filler said it would help improve tourism and the economy because artists, teams or festivals would continue to come to the state.
“If we are viewed as a place where the venues… the artists or the supporting team feel protected and supported by Michigan law, then I think that leads to good results,” Filler told the Advance payment.
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