Chicago, Illinois. Photo Credit: Max Bender
Illinois has become the latest state to tackle ticketing reform – including with measures targeting “ghost tickets,” bot-powered resale operations, and more.
Governor JB Pritzker just recently signed those measures, technically part of a few distinct bills, into law. First up, HB 228 is designed to eliminate “hidden and misleading fees” on a variety of platforms.
Though said platforms include ticketing sites, the example-geared legislation mentions hotels, internet providers, and food-delivery apps. (In live entertainment, all-in pricing has been rolling out for a while; the FTC’s enforcing a related rule at the federal level.)
Beginning at the top of 2027, HB 228 will bar the advertisement or display of a “price for goods or services that does not include all mandatory fees or surcharges,” according to the straightforward bill.
Specifically on the crowd-based entertainment side, Illinois is taking aim at “ghost tickets” – referring to speculative passes listed despite not actually being in one’s possession – with HB 4984.
“A ticket reseller shall not sell or offer for sale a ticket that the ticket reseller does not own or have actual or constructive possession of at the time of listing or advertising for sale,” the new law, effective immediately, reads. “If a ticket is sold on a ticket resale marketplace, the ticket resale marketplace shall ensure that the ticket reseller is compliant with this subsection.”
As some will recall, platforms themselves have clashed over alleged speculative tickets, which NIVA criticized earlier in June. Enforcing the relevant law may present challenges in practice, but in theory, compelling ticket marketplaces to verify resellers’ compliance could simultaneously curb the problem and platforms’ disputes.
Next, in keeping with its full title, the Prohibition on Bots Purchasing Tickets Act (SB 318) will look to decommission the automated purchase of passes starting in January 2027.
Illinois customers, for their part, cannot “use or create one or more bots” to “purchase tickets in excess of posted limits” or otherwise take steps to exceed said limits.
And each “owner or operator of an event facility that sells tickets to events,” plus “any agent who conducts or facilitates those sales,” must report violations to the state attorney general.
(Sorry, sports fans: The bill’s definition of “event facility” – and, in turn, the reporting obligation – expressly excludes any “facility primarily owned or operated by a professional sports team or franchise.”)
With that, time (two of the three laws won’t go into effect until 2027) will reveal whether the requirements produce the desired result. On this front, Illinois isn’t alone in attempting to rein in scalpers; naturally, the state-by-state approach to regulation means the involved measures aren’t uniform.
To be sure, Vermont last month joined Maine in moving forward with a resale price cap, which Illinois has yet to implement. Back to Live Nation’s above-highlighted support for certain state-level regulations, the promoter in a statement applauded The Prairie State’s newly passed bills.
“We applaud Illinois lawmakers for standing for fans and artists by passing a ban on speculative tickets and deceptive websites. No one should be able to scam fans by listing tickets they don’t have or pretending to be legitimate ticket sellers,” the Ticketmaster parent communicated.
