Once the COVID-19 pandemic is behind us and concert-goers, stage fans, and sports enthusiasts are allowed to fill venues, it may be easier to purchase tickets to popular entertainment and sporting events due to two Senate Bills that were recently signed into law.
Individualized ticket reselling made legal and ticket buying “bots” are now illegal
Senate Bills 384 and 385, signed by the governor into law in October, legalize the individual reselling of event tickets and ban certain types of price gouging, including using deceptive internet domain names and using bots to circumvent ticket limits.
The bill decriminalizes the reselling of a ticket for more than face value, allowing consumers to recoup costs and fees if they resell a ticket to an event they no longer want to or are able to attend. The bills protect consumers by requiring the seller to have actual possession or control of the ticket before offering it for sale.
The new legislation makes running software to purchase large amounts of tickets at once a misdemeanor crime. In addition, using a website with a domain name that is close to the venue or authorized ticket seller to mislead buyers is also a misdemeanor.
Violations of the laws are punishable by up to 93 days’ imprisonment, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.
The law overrides an 89-year-old ban on ticket scalping in Michigan.
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