Senator Blumenthal Urges FTC to Crack Down on Deceptive Ticket Selling Practices
Senator Richard Blumenthal recently hosted a press conference at Connecticut's Infinity Music Hall to address widespread deceptive ticketing practices affecting the live entertainment industry. He issued an open letter to the FTC demanding investigation and enforcement of the BOTS Act.
The Fix the Tix Coalition and National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) support this initiative, highlighting how predatory practices harm local economies and entertainment venues.
Senator Blumenthal speaking at press conference
A recent study by Connecticut venues identified four major deceptive practices:
- Ticket Hoarding and Bots
- Professional resellers bulk-purchase tickets using illegal bot software
- Immediate resale with excessive markups
- Prevents fans from accessing face-value tickets
- Deceptive SEO and IP Theft
- Secondary sellers manipulate search results to appear before official venues
- Unauthorized use of venue and artist imagery
- Misleads consumers to higher-priced tickets
- False Demand Creation
- Platforms create artificial urgency
- Misleading information about ticket availability
- Pressures hasty purchases at inflated prices
- Price Gouging
- Resellers list inflated prices while cheaper official tickets remain available
"These tactics not only frustrate concertgoers but also undermine venue trust and financial stability," says Tyler Grill, CEO of Infinity Music Hall. The BOTS Act, despite being law since 2016, has only been enforced once, prompting calls for stronger regulatory action and consumer protection measures.
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