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The Senate bill that could transform ticketing in the US has taken a step closer to becoming reality after milestone progress was achieved this week.
The TICKET Act, which has been under discussion for the last couple of years, was marked up and passed by the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation yesterday (Wednesday).
The bipartisan Transparency in Charges for Key Events Ticketing (TICKET) Act would mandate all-in and upfront pricing and establish refund requirements. It would also crack down on misleading websites and deceptive URLs, ban deceptive ‘speculative’ ticketing, and require clear distinction between tickets for sale and ticket procurement services. The act would also require the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to study 2016’s BOTS Act and its enforcement to date.
Its reintroduction in 2025 came after the bill was close to being made law in 2024.
The TICKET Act was most recently included in Congress’ stopgap Continuing Resolution (CR) spending bill at the end of last year. However, consumer groups such as the Fix The Tix Coalition – which includes venues, promoters, record labels and artists – said that it was a watered down version of what was agreed earlier in 2024.
The CR bill’s version of the TICKET Act would not prohibit practices like concierge or ‘seat saver’ services offered by secondary ticketing platforms, which must explicitly inform consumers that they are a resale site.
Fix The Tix claimed that congressional leaders were swayed by lobbying from the entertainment industry. The National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) also dismissed the latest version of the bill at that point and said that it included “a loophole that allows predatory brokers and resale platforms to sell fake tickets under a different name”.
A second CR bill was eventually passed on December 23. The TICKET Act was pulled from this version, as was the Music Tourism Act, which was also re-introduced last month.
Many consumer groups have continued to back the bill, including the Sports Fans Coalition which has once again supported the latest version.
“Fans have called out for the TICKET Act for many years. Today, [Committee on Science, Transportation, and Commerce] Chairman [Ted] Cruz, Ranking Member [Maria] Cantwell, and Senators Schmitt and Markey answered that call and advanced common sense consumer protections in ticketing that will help sports fans buy tickets to their favourite games and protect them from deceptive sales,” said Sports Fans Coalition Executive Director Brian Hess.
“We thank them for their tireless leadership on this issue and urge the Senate to pass the bill quickly.”
An additional 14 consumer organisations, such as the National Consumers League, joined the coalition to back the bipartisan bill.
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