SFC Files with DOJ/FTC About Ticketing Policy
Today, we filed comments to the DOJ-FTC RFI on Anticompetitive Practices in Live Ticketing docket. Our comprehensive comments shined a light on all of the problems in the live event ticketing marketplace, including anticompetitive transferability restrictions and deceptive tactics used by both primary and secondary ticketing companies. Below you can read a summary of our comments or you can read the full filing here.
We have long led the charge for fans’ rights, and we applauded President Trump’s Executive Order 14254 for taking direct aim at the monopolistic practices plaguing the ticketing industry. In response, we endorsed the TICKET Act as a powerful step forward. For years, SFC has pushed for reform through comments to the FTC and DOJ, active participation in federal workshops and roundtables, and strong support for antitrust action against Live Nation-Ticketmaster. But there’s still more to do.
To truly protect fans, we need bold action on market abuses, transferability rights, deceptive pricing, exclusive contracts, and the rampant lack of enforcement of existing laws. The momentum is building. It’s time to finish the job and, in the words of Kid Rock, “Make America Fun Again.”
Live Nation-Ticketmasters’ Monopoly is Squeezing Fans
For years, sports and music fans have been getting burned by outrageous ticket fees, glitchy platforms, and blocked resale options and it all traces back to one monopolistic giant: Live Nation-Ticketmaster. Back in 2010, the U.S. government gave the green light to a mega-merger between Live Nation and Ticketmaster. Instead of stopping a dangerous monopoly, officials slapped on some weak conditions and looked the other way. The result? A vertically integrated goliath controlling everything from artist management to venues, promotions, and both primary and secondary ticketing.
This monopoly power lets Ticketmaster:
Charge outrageous fees for providing little, if any, value to the fan.
Force venues to use their ticketing services — or else lose concerts.
Bundle sports and concert tickets in restrictive contracts.
Make it difficult for fans to shop for better deals on other resale platforms.
Hide behind anti-bot rhetoric to dodge accountability, while still engaging in anti-consumer tactics.
We urge the DOJ, and the 40 state attorneys general to keep up the pressure on Live Nation-Ticketmaster in court and seek structural remedies.
The BOTS Act needs more enforcement.
Fans shouldn’t have to compete with bots that can snatch up tickets in milliseconds—and ticketing giants shouldn’t get a free pass to blame bots while doing little to stop them. Although federal law already bans the use of bots to buy event tickets, it’s only been enforced once. Why? Because companies like Ticketmaster and AXS rarely report these violations, leaving the FTC in the dark. Ticketmaster alone claims it blocked over 10 billion bot attempts in 2018, but there’s no evidence it shared that data with authorities. These companies have the power and responsibility to fight bots head-on, yet they often use them as scapegoats while fans suffer. Requiring platforms to report bot activity to law enforcement is a simple, necessary fix to restore fairness and protect fans.
Ticket Restrictions Protect Monopolies, Not Fans
Fans deserve the right to transfer their tickets without any restrictions. But monopolies like Ticketmaster are playing a rigged game, using digital-only tickets to lock out resale on competing platforms and pocket multiple transaction fees off the same ticket. Sometimes, they go a step further and ban resale entirely.
Here’s the core question policymakers must ask: Who owns a ticket after it’s purchased? The corporation or the consumer? We believe the answer is clear. If you bought it, it’s yours. Whether it’s a stub in your hand or a barcode on your phone, you should have the freedom to gift it, sell it, or trade it without interference from gatekeepers or walled gardens
SafeTix is a Trojan Horse for Market Control.
Ticketmaster’s “SafeTix” technology allows Ticketmaster to control resale by allowing event organizers, many of whom are affiliated with Ticketmaster, to restrict ticket transfer and resale exclusively to Ticketmaster’s own resale platform, preventing fans from using competing resale marketplaces. This product provided a set of critical facts for DOJ’s lawsuit against Live Nation-Ticketmaster:
“In addition to inserting Ticketmaster as an intermediary into secondary ticket transfers and transactions, SafeTix has also fortified Live Nation’s data advantages over its rivals. According to internal documents, SafeTix was expected to grow the ‘size/value of the TM database,’ already by far the largest of any ticketer, by as much as 30 to 40%. As Live Nation’s CEO put it, ‘[o]ne of the advantages we’ve launched under the transfer strategy is we now not only know the person that bought the ticket, but we’re going to know those three people that you are taking to the show, which we have not known historically.’ Live Nation can monetize this unique trove of data in its various businesses to both increase its bottom line and further entrench its positions across the live entertainment industry.”
SafeTix also allows Live Nation-Ticketmaster to expand its data dominance in the marketplace, a key way it defends its monopoly. As the DOJ explained:
“In addition to inserting Ticketmaster as an intermediary into secondary ticket transfers and transactions, SafeTix has also fortified Live Nation’s data advantages over its rivals. According to internal documents, SafeTix was expected to grow the ‘size/value of the TM database,’ already by far the largest of any ticketer, by as much as 30 to 40%. As Live Nation’s CEO put it, ‘[o]ne of the advantages we’ve launched under the transfer strategy is we now not only know the person that bought the ticket, but we’re going to know those three people that you are taking to the show, which we have not known historically.’ Live Nation can monetize this unique trove of data in its various businesses to both increase its bottom line and further entrench its positions across the live entertainment industry.”
Transferability Restrictions Lead to Less Supply and More Frustration.
When it comes to bad ticketing policy, Ireland is the cautionary tale. In 2021, the country passed one of the most restrictive resale bans in the world—complete with jail time for violators. The result? Trusted secondary marketplaces packed up and left. So when over 600,000 fans flooded Ticketmaster’s queue for the Steelers-Vikings game in Dublin, chaos ensued. As the Irish Mirror put it, fans’ chances of scoring a ticket were “significantly lower” thanks to the lack of resale options. With no alternatives, fans were trapped in a single, overloaded system controlled by a U.S. monopoly. If Ireland had embraced competition instead of banning it, fans could’ve shopped around, compared prices, and picked the platform that worked best for them. Instead, they got stuck with the worst-case scenario: no choice, no access, and no fun.
Transferability Saves Fans Millions.
Six states have already stood up to industry giants like Live Nation-Ticketmaster and guaranteed fans the right to transfer their tickets. It’s time for the rest of the country to catch up.
Ticket transferability isn’t just a convenience—it’s consumer protection. Life happens. Whether it's a last-minute conflict, a sick kid, or a changed plan, fans need the freedom to resell their tickets. This is especially critical for season ticket holders who often commit to dozens of events months in advance.
But here’s the kicker: when fans can freely resell their tickets, fans can even save money!
The secondary market, driven by ticket transferability, creates genuine competition, and with it, genuine savings:
Between 2017 and 2024, sports fans saved over $475 million on NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL tickets by buying through resale.
In 2024 alone, fans saved $106.6 million.
Fans could find tickets below face value more than a third of the time.
Tickets resold below face value saved fans an average of $30.32 each—enough for a beer and a hot dog at most stadiums.
And it’s not just sports.
Protect Ticket Rights and American Consumer Institute have also conducted separate, independent reports and found similar savings for other events such as concerts.
Fans Deserve Transparency, Not Tricks
Until May 12, 2025, when the FTC’s Unfair or Deceptive Fees Rule finally took effect, most fans didn’t even see the real price of a ticket until the very last click. That rule was a game-changer but it was just the beginning.
Even now, fans are still left guessing:
How many tickets are actually available?
Will more be released later?
Is this a real ticket or just a speculative listing?
It’s a marketplace built on murky practices, not consumer trust.
Fans deserve better.
Holdbacks Create Fake Scarcity and Real Frustration.
Undisclosed ticket holdbacks are deceptive and unfair. Ticket sellers like Ticketmaster often withhold up to half of all tickets from the public. During Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, as much as 94% of tickets were held back for insiders. Ticketmaster claimed shows were sold out, only to release more tickets days later. That’s not supply and demand, it’s manufactured scarcity to jack up prices.
These schemes fuel panic buying. Fans spend hours in online queues, only to overpay or walk away empty-handed. Even presale buyers get burned. Beyoncé fans paid premium prices for nosebleeds, then watched better seats become available later for less. If true inventory were disclosed, fans could make smarter decisions.
Transparency matters. SFC polling in Colorado found nearly 90% of voters support laws to require holdback disclosure. Knowing what’s actually available empowers fans and prevents price manipulation.
Holdback Disclosures
Speculative Tickets, Real Harms.
Speculative ticketing is deceptive when fans don’t know what they’re purchasing. It happens when sellers list tickets they don’t actually have, hoping to get them later. Fans often believe their purchase is secure, only to find out too late that the ticket doesn’t exist.
At a minimum, these listings should be clearly disclosed and come with a money-back guarantee. Better yet, deceptive speculative ticketing should be banned. SFC supports allowing ticket procurement services, where fans knowingly hire someone to buy tickets on their behalf. It’s honest, transparent, and gives fans more flexibility.
Fake Websites Create Real Harms.
Deceptive ticket websites are tricking fans out of their money. Known as “white label sites,” these scammy operators use misleading URLs, logos, and imagery to pose as official box offices or primary sellers. In reality, fans are unknowingly buying from third parties who pretend to be the real deal.
This kind of online bait-and-switch should be flat-out prohibited.
The good news? Ten states have already taken action, including California, New York, Texas, and Virginia, by banning fake URLs and misleading ticket sites. And more are expected to follow in 2025.
Price controls do more harm than good.
Price floors and caps set by primary sellers hurt fans by limiting their ability to resell tickets at fair market value. This kind of price control leads to empty seats, fewer savings, and less competition. Fans deserve the freedom to buy and sell in a transparent marketplace, not one rigged to protect corporate profits. Online resale platforms have brought ticketing out of the shadows and into a safer, more accountable space. Arbitrary price-fixing risks pushing it all back into the scalper-driven chaos of the past.
Price Floors Inflate Prices
Price floors in the ticket resale market are a raw deal for fans. When the NFL imposed a price floor on its official resale platform, the New York Attorney General found it artificially inflated prices and misled consumers into thinking they were paying fair market rates. The damage was even worse for fans of underperforming teams, where demand was lower but prices stayed high due to league mandates. The 2024 Paris Olympics repeated the mistake by forcing all resales through a single platform that blocked fans from setting competitive prices. The result? Inflated costs, fewer affordable options, and an explosion of fraud.
Price Caps Fuel Fraud
Just as an athlete can’t control how or for what price a fan resells a baseball card, the same principle should apply to event tickets. Price caps may sound like a way to protect fans from soaring resale prices, but the data tells a different story. The CATO Institute’s analysis of three NHL seasons found no difference in resale prices between states with and without price caps. Instead, price ceilings discouraged fans from reselling their tickets at all, reducing supply and undermining competition. Far from being pro-fan, price caps harm honest buyers and sellers while doing little to stop the behavior they’re supposed to curb.
Worse, price caps create fertile ground for fraud. Countries that have adopted them — like Ireland, Australia, and the UK (for football) — report significantly higher fraud rates than those without such restrictions. The numbers are staggering. Bradshaw Advisory found that if the UK expanded its price cap laws beyond just football, fraud rates could reach those in Ireland and Australia. This would result in annual fan losses skyrocketing from £341 million to £1.23 billion. Even more alarming, they estimate that total societal costs could surge to £4.9 billion per year, a £3.53 billion jump. These findings make one thing clear: price caps don’t prevent fraud—they supercharge it.
Fee Caps are Only Cosmetic
Fee caps on ticket resales may sound appealing, but in today’s all-in pricing landscape, they’re little more than lipstick on a pig. Since platforms are now required to show the full cost of a ticket upfront, fee caps do nothing to improve affordability or transparency, they just offer political cover without changing what fans actually pay. Worse, fee caps risk distorting the market by forcing platforms to reallocate rather than eliminate costs, which could have anticompetitive effects. Primary sellers, with more control over pricing architecture, can bury fees more easily than secondary platforms, putting resale at a disadvantage. The DOJ and FTC should reject any proposal to control ticket prices or fees, as these measures threaten to entrench monopolies, disrupt market fairness, and fuel fraud.
End Exclusive Contracts and Create Lower Prices.
Ticketmaster’s monopoly grip on ticketing is powered by exclusive contracts that block competition and drive up costs for fans. Venues are pressured to use Ticketmaster or risk losing access to Live Nation tours, creating a system where even Ticketmaster’s closest competitor, AXS, can’t compete—Taylor Swift’s tour had to be ticketed through Ticketmaster because most venues were locked into exclusivity. These contracts stifle innovation and inflate fees. But when venues can choose their ticketer, fans win.
“Live Nation-Ticketmaster locks concert venues into long-term exclusive contracts so that venues cannot consider or choose rival ticketers or switch to better or more cost-effective ticketing technology. These contracts allow Live Nation-Ticketmaster to reduce competitive pressure to improve its own ticketing technology and customer service.”
Fees for NBA Games
At Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena, which uses Ticketmaster for Lakers games and AXS for Clippers games, fees were dramatically lower—Ticketmaster’s fees dropped from a 49.2% national average to 23.5%, while AXS fell from 30% to 14.6%. This shows how non-exclusive contracts restore competition and drive down prices. The DOJ’s lawsuit against Live Nation-Ticketmaster rightly targets this anticompetitive behavior, which allows the company to sideline rivals and sidestep improvements in technology and service.
Congress must act to protect fans
The Federal Trade Commission dealt a major blow to junk fees with its new rule against deceptive pricing. That’s a huge win. But let’s be honest, when it comes to buying tickets for concerts, sports, or theater, consumers are still being taken advantage of. The drip-fee era may be waning, but the ticketing system is still rigged.
That’s why Congress must act—and fast.
The TICKET Act
The Transparency In Charges for Key Events Ticketing Act (TICKET Act) is already off to the races. Passed by the House in a landslide 409–15, this bipartisan bill demands upfront, all-in pricing from ticket sellers—no more surprise fees at checkout. It bans speculative ticketing, requires real refunds for canceled and postponed events, and targets fake websites designed to trick fans. Artists, consumers, and even the industry supports the bill. Now, the Senate needs to follow through and pass the TICKET Act.
The BOSS and SWIFT Act
The BOSS and SWIFT Act is a comprehensive reform bill named that attacks hidden fees, bots, speculative listings, and ticket holdbacks. Even better, it protects the right to transfer tickets so fans can share, gift, or resell their tickets without corporate interference. It’s the most comprehensive ticketing reform Congress has ever seen.
The MAIN Event Act
Ticket-buying bots continue to plague the system. The MAIN Event Act beefs up the 2016 BOTS Act by requiring ticketing giants like Ticketmaster to report bot attacks. The Senate Commerce Committee has already passed the bill, but the full Senate and the House still ned to act.
The Unlock Ticketing Markets Act
Live Nation-Ticketmaster’s iron grip on venues means less choice, higher prices, and weaker competition. The Unlock Ticketing Markets Act doesn’t ban exclusivity, but it limits it. No more decade-long chokeholds on venues. No more locked-out innovation. This bill would crack open the market and give fans and artists a fighting chance.
Conclusion
Many of the frustrations fans face when buying tickets (crashing websites, inflated prices, and limited options) can be traced back to the anticompetitive behavior of Live Nation-Ticketmaster and their powerful allies. While the secondary market has its own issues, true reform requires a comprehensive approach. The Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission should tackle the entire ecosystem by pursuing structural remedies in the antitrust case against Live Nation-Ticketmaster, protecting ticket transferability, banning deceptive practices, prohibiting price controls, ending exclusive venue contracts, and enforcing the BOTS Act with real teeth.
Taken together, these actions would restore competition, transparency, and fairness—and finally “Make America Fun Again” for fans everywhere.