President Barack Obama has signed the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act of 2016, which now makes buying tickets for events and shows online with the use of software or bots, illegal.
According to a statement from the White House Press Secretary, the law will “prohibit the circumvention of control measures used by Internet ticket sellers to ensure equitable consumer access to tickets for certain events.” It is also illegal to resell tickets that were purchased with the help of the bot. With this law, it makes the person(s) and those who were aware of how the tickets were purchased, liable.
This law coming into effect after tickets for shows like Adele and Tragically Hip were almost immediately sold out, only to be found on second market websites. Ticketmaster has reached out with support in this movement and is, “pleased that the BOTS Act is now a federal law.
This is a defensive move against sky-rocketed ticket sales and the exploitation of fair prices for events, shows, and festivals. It is common knowledge today that if an event or festival is sold out, that may only be applicable to the initial pricing and this ticket often, can be found on a re-selling website for an inflated price to the benefit of “career ticket-buyers” and “virtual line-jumpers”.
While this act was already in place in the State of New York, it is now nationwide.
We have an epidemic of unfair ticket prices on our hands and this move was in direct opposition to those who at times, make a living off ticket-sales.
With limited time left in The White House, President Obama’s moves are calculated and transcendent.
