Federal legislation outlawing bots in the purchase of tickets has been passed by the US Senate just days after measures against the use of the automated software also progressed in New York, the UK and Italy.
The Bots (Better Online Ticket Sales) Act, which passed by voice vote, now heads to the House of Representatives, which agreed a similar measure in September.
It is expected that House lawmakers will send the Senate-passed bill to the White House to be signed into law by President Barack Obama before he leaves office in January.
The Bots Act would hand the Federal Trade Commission the power to penalise those found to be using ticket bots to scalp large numbers of tickets bypassing the security of ticket sales systems. The bill would also make it illegal to sell tickets obtained through bots.
“Scalpers who cut in line, then buy mass quantities of tickets just to resell them at higher prices make it difficult for people to get tickets for themselves and their families,” said bill sponsor Senator Jerry Moran, who is the chairman of the Senate Consumer Protection, Product Safety, Insurance and Data Security Subcommittee.
“Ticket bots have affected people across the country, and the need to end this growing practice is reflected in the widespread support in the Senate.”
The Senate vote was welcomed by Katie Peters, director of government relations at music streaming giant Pandora, the owner of ticket distribution company Ticketfly, who believes the legislation will “increase fairness in the ticket-purchasing industry”.
Earlier this week, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a new law that toughens up penalties that can be used against those found to be using or profiting from the use of bots. Legislation designed to outlaw bots and bring great order to secondary ticketing also made progress in Italy and the UK.
Related article: TicketIQ CEO questions impact of new New York bot laws
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