Brazil’s House has approved a bill that criminalises ticket scalping at concerts, plays, and more which has been nicknamed the “Taylor Swift Act” after touts left fans thousands out of pocket for the artist’s Eras Tour.
Three lawmakers separately introduced similar drafts on the issue in June 2023, after tickets went on sale for Swift’s performances in Brazil from November 17-26 of the same year.
Fans waited in line for days before tickets sold out within 40 minutes, while some reported violent encounters with scalpers.
These scalpers then offered tickets to the concerts for around BRL12,000 (£1,800/$2,300/€2,200), which was 12 times that of face value.
The bill’s final draft, as approved by the House floor, added that ticket scalping will not be punished unless it is practiced “regularly”.
This ambiguity has raised concerns that it could lead to inconsistent rule enforcement, especially as the bill does not say how judges will tell regular and occasional scalpers apart.
Ticket scalping is already a crime for sporting events, but the new legislation aims to extend that to more ticketed occasions.
The bill defines scalping as selling a ticket for a higher price than face value, and is punishable by up to two years in jail plus a fine of 50 times the ticket value.
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