As sports fans, we love the thrill of game day — the anticipation, the camaraderie, the joy of watching our favorite teams compete. However, all too often, that excitement is overshadowed by the frustration of buying tickets online.
Hidden fees and a host of deceptive sales practices in the initial sale and resale of tickets can turn what should be a positive experience into a nightmare. Enough is enough. It’s time for Congress to pass the TICKET Act (Transparency in Charges for Key Events Ticketing), a bipartisan bill reintroduced by senators Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., and Ed Markey. D-Mass., designed to put fans first and bring fairness back to the ticket marketplace.
It nearly became law in December. The reintroduced bill took a significant step forward recently when it was marked up in the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. The TICKET Act should be advanced swiftly.
For years, fans have been taken advantage of by an industry rife with abusive practices. The final price of a ticket is often nowhere near what was initially advertised or listed. Surprise fees that mysteriously appear at checkout make consumers feel duped with sticker shock. Instead, fans prefer the first price to be the last price we see, plus taxes, and with an itemized breakdown available at checkout should I want to have that with the receipt.
Many fans buy for a group and need the total price upfront to compare shop across various sellers more easily.
Some fans have found they bought the promise of a ticket when they paid rather than an in-possession ticket, a practice known as speculative ticketing. Speculative sales can be deceptive and harmful to fans if not transparently disclosed or displayed differently.
The TICKET Act would fix the speculative ticket sales problem and make other, much-needed improvements to the market.
First, it requires upfront, all-in pricing, ensuring that consumers see a single, total ticket cost that includes fees and not just a misleading base price.
Second, the bill outlaws deceptive speculative sales and other deceptive sales practices, making it illegal to claim an online ticketing site is “official” if it is not formally associated with the event.
Important: Ticket procurement shopping services will still be available to those who prefer to purchase tickets this way but cannot be bothered by the chaos that has become the public on-sale of tickets for sell-out events.
Like using Instacart to pay a shopper to procure and deliver products as ordered, this is how many fans buy their tickets, which would not change. In a positive step, the TICKET Act will require that shopping services be clearly and conspicuously identified as such in contrast to in-possession tickets and that the procurement service comes with a refund or comparable ticket guarantees. This will ensure fans are no longer misled by the current speculative ticket offers.
Third, the bill requires that fans receive their money back — no questions asked — when shows or games are canceled or postponed for a long time.
It will also direct the Federal Trade Commission to report the prevalence of illegal software bots in the system that take tickets away from fans.
This isn’t just about sports — it’s about fairness. Concertgoers, theater lovers and families planning a special night out suffer from the same rigged system.
The TICKET Act almost became law last year. It passed the House Energy & Commerce Committee unanimously and then the House of Representatives by a bipartisan vote of 388-24. Nearly every stakeholder endorsed the TICKET Act, from consumer protection advocates to ticketing companies, venues, artists management firms, artists, teams, promoters and others.
In December, an agreement was reached and included in the package proposed by House and Senate leadership. Unfortunately, that package didn’t become law for broader reasons.
While there are many other cures needed in the ticketing system, particularly in how tickets are first offered for sale and the deception and manipulation that is common practice in the live events ecosystem long before tickets come into the equation, the commonsense reforms in the TICKET Act protect consumers and foster a more honest, competitive market.
Sports fans nationwide urge Congress to pass the TICKET Act and stand up for the millions of fans who fuel the sports and entertainment industries.
Brian Hess is the executive director of the Sports Fans Coalition/InsideSources