Bill to Protect Tickets From Scalpers Awaits Governor's Signature

One of life's big disappointments: discovering that the tickets are gone for a concert you've been anticipating...and they just went on sale that morning. Even when you have a timer set for the minute tickets become available, chances are you may miss out on snagging them for such popular acts as Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Strings and Widespread Panic. And as Swifties and Dead & Co, fans have found out, the resale options are often beyond unaffordable.

In order to rein in the resale market, the Colorado Legislature passed SB23-060, which is now awaiting Governor Jared Polis's signature. The Consumer Protection in Event Ticketing Sales bill would amend "consumer protection law regarding ticket sales and resales for events," according to its summary.

The bill aims to protect concert-goers from deceptive ticketing practices while also creating penalties for those who use bots to buy mass amounts of tickets. Putting specific definitions into law would help hold those who use bots accountable, says Senator Robert Rodriguez, the bill's sponsor, and the measure also outlines penalties for those who use deceptive resale methods.

If signed into law, the proposal would define an "operator" as "a person that owns or operates a place of entertainment or that promotes or produces entertainment; define a 'primary ticket seller' as a person that sells tickets for original sale on behalf of an operator; specify that a 'reseller' includes an event operator who acts as a reseller of event tickets; and define a 'rights holder' as a person with initial ownership rights to sell a ticket to an event," the summary continues.

The bill defines "deceptive trade practices" as using computer software or other tech to purchase mass amounts of tickets, increasing ticket prices beyond delivery fees, selling tickets without actually owning them or being a "rights holder," and posing as a legitimate ticket seller by falsely using trademarked or copyrighted images or similar web design as operators, primary ticket sellers or rights holders. (These websites often pop up when you search for tickets for popular shows.) Under the measure, venues would also be able to limit ticket transfers for three types of tickets: ADA seating, charitable tickets (those donated for events) or tickets that the consumer received at no cost.

"We didn't outlaw scalping," Rodriguez notes. "We just outlawed people using bots and stealing mass tickets. ... You just have to have your ticket in your possession — on your phone or your app — and you can sell it."

If Polis signs the bill, ticket holders would still be able to resell their tickets for more than face value.

"People feel like if they have their ticket, they should be able to sell it whenever they want. And that's kind of ingrained in our history; it's been like that for quite a while. So we didn't go that route," Rodriguez says. "It was just about getting rid of speculative ticketing, which is where they can find these third-party sites selling tickets before they actually go on sale on the actual concert website. I have tons of examples on this: Madonna's tickets went on sale one day, but two weeks later, the resellers are already selling tickets. The speculative ticketing bans that practice; you have to actually have the ticket that you're gonna sell. I think that's a huge incentive to stop people from using robots to buy tickets up front."

The bill also includes enforcing all-in pricing, he adds, giving another reason for concert-goers to support the measure: Ticket prices will now be listed with the fees included, so no one will be surprised when a $100 ticket goes up to $150 at checkout.

"We modeled it after what California had, which was you have to see the price up front before you even click on anything, which I think is huge," Rodriguez explains. "I mean, fees are a whole other argument. Maybe I'll tackle that in another bill."