is ticket scalping legal in pennsylvania

One common form of regulation is the banning of ticket sales within a certain distance of where the event is taking place. Im a season ticket holder. Its frustrating to watch some people with their Gucci jeans walk aimlessly around The Bank looking for their seats, obviously never have been to the stadium before. Law Practice, Attorney I am glad to have brokers. Would I be subject to paying tax at the end of the year or declaring this as "profit" I make at the end of a calendar year? Under the states old law, only licensed brokers could resell tickets, and then for a maximum of 25 percent about face value. Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell late Friday signed into law a bill that allows anyone to legally resell event tickets online. The ballots are intended to discourage re-selling by making it harder to purchase large numbers of tickets because being at the front of the queue does not guarantee the holder a ticket. Services Law, Real Buying tickets from a scalper is riskier and more expensive than purchasing them from an authorized vendor. It prohibits price increases of more than 10%. (this may not be the same place you live), Faulty/Defective Products/Services (Auto, Drug), Investments (Annuities, Securities, IPOs), Online Law This interview aired onThursday, April 4, 2019. Well, for one, other than just purchasing the inventory for resale, it's modified, branded, and becomes a product of the seller. 16th Floor, Strawberry Square While in law school, her law journal note was selected for first-round publishing, and can be found on various legal research databases. According to the scalping laws in the state of California, a person who scalps tickets to an entertainment event, such as a movie premiere or a sold-out concert, will be considered to have committed an illegal act unless they have written permission to sell a ticket from the owner or operator of the venue. [email protected], Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General Strawberry Square Did stubhub just get a batch of tickets to sell at their escalated prices? What's been the impact of bots swarming ticketing websites?What are some common scams and issues related to ticket reselling and scalping? Ten years ago, when Minnesota became the first state to legalize ticket resale (scalping) without any constraints or regulatory oversight, it set in motion one of the most interesting. Just because scalping is a non-violent crime without a victim does not mean that scalpers do not get arrested or are ignored. Approximately 16 of the 50 states have a law that makes scalping illegal. Still, if the event you want to attend has been sold out, it can be tempting to look for alternative ways to buy tickets. There have been numerous times (this morning included) where I have been online with my finger on the refresh button two minutes prior to the official selling time. There's no law in Texas against reselling tickets, but big sports cities like Houston and Arlington have proactively passed ordinances to crack down on scalping. ".. crime without a victim in fact, it is a crime where both parties are agreeable to the transaction" is incorrect. This is when a scalper buys items or equipment, often high-ticket items such as technology or items experiencing a shortage, and resales them at increased prices. The BOTS act enforces several penalties and fines for parties found guilty of using bots or other technology for undermining online ticket seller systems with the hopes of selling them on the secondary ticket market. If you must purchase tickets from a third party, pick a safe and reputable platform like Ticketmaster or StubHub, which offer buyer protections and ensure ticket authenticity. Approximately 16 of the 50 states have a law that makes scalping illegal. Unlike bigger ticket scalpers who buy a ton of tickets at once, this is buying and selling tickets from secondary markets. So if you can not afford it everyone should pay the price? There are more important problems than legal scalping from the common person. Online ticket resellers may bypass the licensing requirement by having a business presence in the Commonwealth, registering with the Department of State, and guaranteeing full refunds to customers if the event is canceled or the tickets are defective. You can learn more about Jaclyn here. Law, Insurance Hello Nation! Those who can enforce the law at races or football games include box office personnel, supervisors, venue managers, ticket agents, security agents, event promoters and seat holders. In most of these states, scalping is considered a misdemeanor that may result in the offender getting a fine and up to one year in jail. The crap seats face value is $150. Scalping bots, computer programs specially designed to purchase and resale items at inflated prices, have become common for tickets as well as other items sold online. [22] As a result, in 2017, Ontario announced legislation to attempt to crack down on scalper bots. Efforts to make the practice illegal are overshadowed by such websites. I could go on and rant but there wouldnt be enough space or time. It is better to have people who have/own the tickets who may want to get a slight profit over going themselves if people are willing to buy at a higher cost. The advent of presales has allowed more individuals to participate in reselling tickets outside of a brokers office. Other brokers partner with online ticket exchanges. As discussed above, the legal consequences that one may face if they are caught illegally scalping tickets can vary widely from state to state. Have you checked energy prices lately-same thing. You have entered an incorrect email address! But economically . If scalping were illegal, then I would have never been able to afford such great seats. What about when a scalper uses a program to jam up the system with automatic purchases preventing private individuals wanting to purchase tickets the hour they go on sale? Tickets went on sale in March. Since the tickets were authentic, buyers do not have a way of telling if a ticket had been used or not. In Wisconsin, the state law provides that a ticket cannot be sold for more than the original price of the ticket. However, considering that scalping is a type of offense that is a non-violent offense, scalpers may see themselves break the law and not see any real consequences. A question that comes to mind is whether or not scalping tickets is illegal? Being able to easily sell tickets to a broker who may be willing to buy them will allow many to trade their tickets if for some reason they cannot attend the event. @ FrameMaker- I disagree with you. However, scalping also takes place for products such as gaming consoles. I just think that the sports leagues and states should just let people do what they want with services that they have paid for. The new law became effective immediately. who resell their tickets, the way the NY law does? Copyright 2023, All Rights Reserved | Some TicketNews posts have affiliate links - it may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase tickets or other products. Your lawyer will also be able to explain how the laws may affect the outcome of your case and can discuss the potential penalties you may receive if you are convicted of the act. This caused event promoters to put restrictions on the number of tickets that can be purchased in one transaction, which has greatly reduced unfair ticket pricing. It doesn't necessarily require a degree or high degree of knowledge to attempt the act of scalping. Those who legalized it, should be ashamed of themselves. I appreciate how the article presents both sides of the argument with regard to scalpers and the actual practice itself. Over the past two decades, ticket scalping has become increasingly common due to the existence of the internet. Generally speaking, however, states that do consider ticket scalping to be illegal will issue fines for up to $1,000 and/or a jail sentence for no longer than one year if the scalper is a first-time offender. Paul Brennan on Pixabay http://bit.ly/2FZ2cnG. Committ or SHUT UP!!!! Total extortion. Hard working middle class families like my own are hard pressed to do this. [13] There are also independently owned online ticket re-sellers such as viagogo and SeatMarket. During the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent cancellation of events, such as music concerts, Secure Ticket Purchase changed its refund policy to only offer store credit for purchasers of tickets for canceled shows. On this blog, I provide you with golden nuggets of information about lawyers, attorneys, the law and legal theories. I can barely stand paying ticketmaster, so I am definitely not going to pay some stranger more than the actual artist who created the music I want to hear live! I figured that if they were going to be rooting against my new home team, I would make them pay. I agree with the person above. There are many full-time scalpers who are regulars at particular venues and may even have a pool of loyal buyers. Seven states Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania require a special license to resell tickets. In an effort to curtail such behavior, Congress moved to pass the Better Online Tickets Sales Act of 2016, more commonly referred to as the BOTS act. Do you right the tickets off on your tax return? What law did I break moron? Licensure, Registration and Delegation Several states, including Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and South Carolina require that anyone who resells tickets must either register or obtain a license from the state, both of which require an annual fee. As such, a person who has been accused of illegally scalping or reselling tickets should speak to a local criminal defense lawyer immediately. Ticket resale is common in both sporting and musical events. I was able to live like the wealthy, eating at the premium buffets, extra wide seats, full bars with lounges and player meet and greets, all for less than the price of a pair of cheap seats for the season. I mean seriously! The laws on ticket scalping tend to vary widely from state to state. When a private citizen purchases tickets and then reselling them for a higher price without specifically being related to the venue organization or be authorized to resell tickets, we call that ticket scalping. If there are state, municipal, or local laws prohibiting scalping, then the act of buying and reselling tickets for a profit will be illegal. I do the same thing with my Red Sox season tickets. Go to Cuba, where your ticket price will be regulated by the government. The efforts required to shut down these websites illegally selling tickets is costly and time-consuming for the police authorities and law enforcement. Now yes supply & demand do come into play but it seems some of these people bought a lot of tickets with the intent of just selling them for profit. Ticket scalping is the practice of purchasing event tickets and then reselling them at a higher price, usually for a profit. What fraudsters will do is deploy thousands of bots from untraceable IP addresses in a brute force attack as soon as a venue or ticket seller first makes them available for sale. The way the scalping laws are written may also allow scalpers to circumvent the application of the law. Critics of the industry compare the resale of tickets online to ticket touting, scalping or a variety of other terms for the unofficial sale of tickets directly outside the venue of an event. The material provided on the Lawyer.Zone's website is for general information purposes only. Bus. Gen. Laws Ann. Why should a consumer walk into my dealership and ask for a discount. Events that have sold tickets by ballot include the Big Day Out in 2007,[39] the Ahmet Ertegn Tribute Concert Led Zeppelin reunion concert at The O2 Arena in 2007, and the 2006 Commonwealth Games.[40]. Just a thought. If you find ticket scalpers close to raceways and the NFL, you may likely see a higher level of enforcement by the police authorities and others, such as: Considering the level of supervision taking place at raceway games and the NFL, scalpers tend to stay away from such events or conduct their activities with a higher level of care. Scalping in Pennsylvania is legal, as long as the seller doesn't collect $5 or 25 percent more than face value on the ticket, whichever is higher. TL;DR: I realized that if the system of capitalism is meant to act as a defense to the legality of their actions, it should be taken into consideration that it is in no way an ideal model or example of capitalism. Yeah, everyone should be able to pay a reasonable price. My point is, this law will further the distance between the haves and have nots. This is why this country is going to the dogs. I bought a Nintendo wii when they first came out. Of course, one has to be over the age of, say, nine, emotionally speaking, to appreciate the absolutely beautiful way the system works, which may be why some folks find it "unfair." They state that it creates a fair, open market that both parties are agreeable toward. These presales often use unique codes specific to an artist's fan club or venue. They weren't as proactive as they probably should have been. Those in favor of the legality of ticket scalping say that going through brokers creates a safe and reliable way to get tickets. Law, Products [citation needed], Some ticket sellers allow buyers to provide personal information in exchange for being allowed to buy tickets earlier. There are so many events around the country, so many tickets bought and sold, and only so much law enforcement bandwidth, its nearly impossible to pursue all scalpers breaking the law. Ed, can you explain it to my son for me? In addition to having to prove that an individual resold a ticket for more than its face value when it was originally purchased, the state also needs to prove that the person was commonly known as a ticket scalper. Scalping may result in fines or other civil penalties in some situations, but it may also be regarded a criminal act punishable by jail in others. This means that the penalties and elements to prove whether or not an individual may be punished for illegally scalping tickets will vary from state to state. Why is scalping made legal? Noone wants to sell them for the price they paid because there are 50 other people you are willing to pay more. Scalpers act to distribute tickets to those who value them the most, or, as. Its surely not becasue the many concert going fans want it available. [2] The measure was taken in response to ticket scalping and resale markup of tickets on secondary markets and adopted during Miley Cyrus (2009) World Wonder Tour, although Ticketmaster first experimented it with AC/DC's Black Ice World Tour (200810). DISCLAIMER. Scalping tickets is illegal in many areas due to the fact that is unethical and can be harmful to the success of an event. Another common practice is scalpers that sell tickets that have already been scanned at the venue gate since entry is typically allowed only when a ticket is scanned for the first time. During the live show, call210-614-8980, [email protected] tweet at@TPRSource. HARRISBURG Attorney General Michelle Henry announced a settlement has been reached holding accountable the ticket reseller website, www.boxofficeticketsales.com, for violations, including a change of policy that eliminated refunds for canceled events.

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