Ticketmaster could face a US federal probe after a congressman called upon the attorney general to look into possible “corruption” and “market malfeasance” at the firm.
The move follows a recent report by CBC/Toronto Star that highlighted a supposed partnership between Ticketmaster’s TradeDesk and touts.
Bill Pascrell, a Democrat from New Jersey, cited the report in a letter sent to Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Friday.
The letter asks for the Justice Department to conduct a “thorough investigation of anti-competitive behaviour by monopolistic Ticketmaster to root out speculation and anti-consumer behaviour in the opaque ticket marketplace.”
CBC News and the Toronto Star uncovered the touting scheme after they filmed Ticketmaster employees claiming that the company “turns a blind eye” to those who have multiple accounts on the company’s inventory management platform TradeDesk and were securing dozens and even hundreds of tickets at a time.
The company has already said it is conducting an internal investigation, but denied the claims of the employees were accurate.
In addition, Ticketmaster has been hit with a class-action lawsuit for “unlawful and unfair business practices” by allegedly “encouraging” scalpers.
According to the suit, Ticketmaster emboldens touts and collects a fee on both the initial sale and resale.
Image: Free-Photos
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