II 

119TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 281 

To require sellers of event tickets to disclose comprehensive information 

to consumers about ticket prices and related fees, to prohibit speculative 

ticketing, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 28, 2025 

Mr. SCHMITT (for himself and Mr. MARKEY) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 

Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To require sellers of event tickets to disclose comprehensive 

information to consumers about ticket prices and related 

fees, to prohibit speculative ticketing, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Transparency In 

5 Charges for Key Events Ticketing Act’’ or the ‘‘TICKET 

6 Act’’. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 281 IS

1 SEC. 2. ALL INCLUSIVE TICKET PRICE DISCLOSURE. 

2 Beginning 180 days after the date of the enactment 

3 of this Act, it shall be unlawful for a ticket issuer, sec4 ondary market ticket issuer, or secondary market ticket 

5 exchange to offer for sale an event ticket unless the ticket 

6 issuer, secondary market ticket issuer, or secondary mar7 ket ticket exchange— 

8 (1) clearly and conspicuously displays the total 

9 event ticket price, if a price is displayed, in any ad10 vertisement, marketing, or price list wherever the 

11 ticket is offered for sale; 

12 (2) clearly and conspicuously discloses to any 

13 individual who seeks to purchase an event ticket the 

14 total event ticket price at the time the ticket is first 

15 displayed to the individual and anytime thereafter 

16 throughout the ticket purchasing process; and 

17 (3) provides an itemized list of the base event 

18 ticket price and each event ticket fee prior to the 

19 completion of the ticket purchasing process. 

20 SEC. 3. SPECULATIVE TICKETING BAN. 

21 (a) PROHIBITION.—Beginning 180 days after the 

22 date of the enactment of this Act, a ticket issuer, sec23 ondary market ticket issuer, or secondary market ticket 

24 exchange that does not have actual or constructive posses25 sion of an event ticket shall not sell, offer for sale, or ad26 vertise for sale such event ticket. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 281 IS

1 (b) SERVICES PERMITTED.—Notwithstanding sub2 section (a), a secondary market ticket issuer or secondary 

3 market ticket exchange may sell, offer for sale, or adver4 tise for sale a service to an individual to obtain an event 

5 ticket on behalf of such individual if the secondary market 

6 ticket issuer or secondary market ticket exchange complies 

7 with the following: 

8 (1) Does not market or list the service as an 

9 event ticket. 

10 (2) Maintains a clear, distinct, and easily dis11 cernible separation between the service and event 

12 tickets that persists throughout the entire service se13 lection and purchasing process. 

14 (3) Clearly and conspicuously discloses before 

15 selection of the service that the service is not an 

16 event ticket and that the purchase of the service 

17 does not guarantee an event ticket. 

18 SEC. 4. DISCLOSURES. 

19 A ticket issuer, secondary market ticket issuer, or 

20 secondary market ticket exchange— 

21 (1) if offering an event ticket for resale, shall 

22 provide a clear and conspicuous statement, before a 

23 consumer purchases the event ticket from the ticket 

24 issuer, secondary market ticket issuer, or secondary 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 281 IS

1 market ticket exchange, that the issuer or exchange 

2 is engaged in the secondary sale of event tickets; and 

3 (2) shall not state that the ticket issuer, sec4 ondary market ticket issuer, or secondary market 

5 ticket exchange is affiliated with or endorsed by a 

6 venue, team, or artist, as applicable, including by 

7 using words like ‘‘official’’ in promotional materials, 

8 social media promotions, or paid advertising, unless 

9 a partnership agreement has been executed or the 

10 issuer or exchange has the express written consent 

11 of the venue, team, or artist, as applicable. 

12 SEC. 5. REFUND REQUIREMENTS. 

13 (a) CANCELLATION.—Beginning 180 days after the 

14 date of the enactment of this Act, if an event is canceled 

15 or postponed (except for a case in which an event is can16 celed or postponed due to a cause beyond the reasonable 

17 control of the issuer, including a natural disaster, civil dis18 turbance, or otherwise unforeseeable impediment), a ticket 

19 issuer, secondary market ticket issuer, or secondary mar20 ket ticket exchange shall provide the purchaser of an event 

21 ticket from the issuer or exchange for the canceled or post22 poned event, at a minimum— 

23 (1) if the event is cancelled, a full refund for 

24 the total event ticket price; 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 281 IS

1 (2) subject to availability, if the event is post2 poned for not more than 6 months and the original 

3 event ticket is no longer valid for entry to the re4 scheduled event, a replacement event ticket for the 

5 rescheduled event in the same or a comparable loca6 tion once the event has been rescheduled; or 

7 (3) if the event is postponed for more than 6 

8 months, at the option of the purchaser— 

9 (A) a full refund for the total event ticket 

10 price; or 

11 (B) if the original event ticket is no longer 

12 valid for entry to the rescheduled event, a re13 placement event ticket for the rescheduled event 

14 in the same or a comparable location once the 

15 event has been rescheduled. 

16 (b) DISCLOSURE OF GUARANTEE AND REFUND POL17 ICY REQUIRED.—Beginning 180 days after the date of the 

18 enactment of this Act, a ticket issuer, secondary market 

19 ticket issuer, or secondary market ticket exchange shall 

20 disclose clearly and conspicuously to a purchaser before 

21 the completion of an event ticket sale the guarantee or 

22 refund policy of such ticket issuer, secondary market tick23 et issuer, or secondary market ticket exchange, including 

24 under what circumstances any refund issued will include 

25 a refund of any event ticket fee. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 281 IS

1 (c) DISCLOSURE OF HOW TO OBTAIN A REFUND RE2 QUIRED.—Beginning 180 days after the date of the enact3 ment of this Act, a ticket issuer, secondary market ticket 

4 issuer, or secondary market ticket exchange shall provide 

5 a clear and conspicuous explanation of how to obtain a 

6 refund of the total event ticket price. 

7 SEC. 6. REPORT BY THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION ON 

8 BOTS ACT OF 2016 ENFORCEMENT. 

9 Not later than 6 months after the date of the enact10 ment of this Act, the Commission shall submit to Congress 

11 a report on enforcement of the Better Online Ticket Sales 

12 Act of 2016 (Public Law 114–274; 15 U.S.C. 45c), includ13 ing any enforcement action taken, challenges with enforce14 ment and coordination with State Attorneys General, and 

15 recommendations on how to improve enforcement and in16 dustry compliance. 

17 SEC. 7. ENFORCEMENT. 

18 (a) UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE ACT OR PRACTICE.—A 

19 violation of this Act shall be treated as a violation of a 

20 rule defining an unfair or deceptive act or practice under 

21 section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act 

22 (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)). 

23 (b) POWERS OF COMMISSION.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall en25 force this Act in the same manner, by the same 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 281 IS

1 means, and with the same jurisdiction, powers, and 

2 duties as though all applicable terms and provisions 

3 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 

4 et seq.) were incorporated into and made a part of 

5 this Act. 

6 (2) PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES.—Any person 

7 who violates this Act shall be subject to the penalties 

8 and entitled to the privileges and immunities pro9 vided in the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 

10 U.S.C. 41 et seq.). 

11 (3) AUTHORITY PRESERVED.—Nothing in this 

12 Act shall be construed to limit the authority of the 

13 Commission under any other provision of law. 

14 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 

15 In this Act: 

16 (1) ARTIST.—The term ‘‘artist’’ means any per17 former, musician, comedian, producer, ensemble or 

18 production entity of a theatrical production, sports 

19 team owner, or similar person. 

20 (2) BASE EVENT TICKET PRICE.—The term 

21 ‘‘base event ticket price’’ means, with respect to an 

22 event ticket, the price of the event ticket excluding 

23 the cost of any event ticket fees. 

24 (3) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

25 means the Federal Trade Commission. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 281 IS

1 (4) EVENT.—The term ‘‘event’’ means any live 

2 concert, theatrical performance, sporting event, 

3 show, or similarly scheduled live activity, that is— 

4 (A) taking place in a venue with a seating 

5 or attendance capacity exceeding 200 persons; 

6 (B) open to the general public; and 

7 (C) promoted, advertised, or marketed in 

8 interstate commerce, or for which event tickets 

9 are generally sold or distributed in interstate 

10 commerce. 

11 (5) EVENT TICKET; TICKET ISSUER.—The 

12 terms ‘‘event ticket’’ and ‘‘ticket issuer’’ have the 

13 meaning given those terms in the Better Online 

14 Ticket Sales Act of 2016 (Public Law 114–274). 

15 (6) EVENT TICKET FEE.—The term ‘‘event 

16 ticket fee’’— 

17 (A) means a charge for an event ticket 

18 that must be paid in addition to the base event 

19 ticket price in order to obtain an event ticket 

20 from a ticket issuer, secondary market ticket 

21 issuer, or secondary market ticket exchange, in22 cluding any service fee, charge and order proc23 essing fee, delivery fee, facility charge fee, tax, 

24 and any other charge; and 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 281 IS

1 (B) does not include any charge or fee for 

2 an optional product or service associated with 

3 the event that may be selected by a purchaser 

4 of an event ticket. 

5 (7) OPTIONAL PRODUCT OR SERVICE.—The 

6 term ‘‘optional product or service’’ means a product 

7 or service that an individual does not need to pur8 chase to use or take possession of an event ticket. 

9 (8) RESALE; SECONDARY SALE.—The terms 

10 ‘‘resale’’ and ‘‘secondary sale’’ mean any sale of an 

11 event ticket that occurs after the initial sale of the 

12 event ticket by a ticket issuer. 

13 (9) SECONDARY MARKET TICKET EXCHANGE.— 

14 The term ‘‘secondary market ticket exchange’’ 

15 means any person that in the regular course of trade 

16 or business of that person operates a platform or ex17 change for advertising, listing, or selling resale tick18 ets, on behalf of itself, vendors, or a secondary mar19 ket ticket issuer. 

20 (10) SECONDARY MARKET TICKET ISSUER.— 

21 The term ‘‘secondary market ticket issuer’’ means 

22 any person, including a ticket issuer, that resells or 

23 makes a secondary sale of an event ticket to the gen24 eral public in the regular course of the trade or busi25 ness of the person. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 281 IS

1 (11) TOTAL EVENT TICKET PRICE.—The term 

2 ‘‘total event ticket price’’ means, with respect to an 

3 event ticket, the total cost of the event ticket, includ4 ing the base event ticket price and any event ticket 

5 fee. 

6 (12) VENUE.—The term ‘‘venue’’ means a 

7 physical space at which an event takes place. 

Æ 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS