On Friday, December 16, President Barack Obama signed into law the Better Online Ticket Sales Act, or the BOTS Act of 2016. This new law will make it easier for fans to buy tickets at the initial price set by the promoter (i.e. Live Nation) or company handling the ticket sales, instead of some hawked up price set by online ticket flippers. According to Billboard, this issue with ticket flippers has been pissing off the entertainment industry for quite some time. Websites and/or certain technologies would purchased loads of tickets when they first go on-sale, then turn around and flip them for triple (or quadruple) the price they paid for them. The BOTS Act will now hold these individuals accountable as stated, “if the seller participated in, had the ability to control, or should have known about the violation.” U.S. Representatives Paul D. Tonko (D-N.Y.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) introduced the bill to legislators back in early 2015. Incidents were ongoing, for instance, when Adele and Bruce Springsteen announced their tours and tickets went on-sale, flippers immediately took the tickets and sold them at a higher price on the secondary market. Read more…
