At Hearing with Hamilton Producer, Blumenthal Calls for Crack Down on Unfair Ticket Bots that Sweep Up Tickets and Squeeze Out Fans

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – At a Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection hearing today, Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) emphasized the urgent need for bipartisan legislation to crack down on unfair ticket scalping. Blumenthal introduced the Better Online Ticket Sales Act, also known as the BOTS Act, to ban “ticket bots” that intentionally bypass security measures on online ticketing to outprice individual fans.

“In one of my favorite shows of all time, Hamilton, my favorite number is called, ‘The Room Where It Happens,’” Blumenthal said. “All that fans want is to be in the room where it happens. And what this bill does is give them fair access to be in that room—whether it is a sports stadium, a music venue, or a show like Hamilton.”

Jeffrey Seller, the producer of hit Broadway musical Hamilton, testified at today’s hearing about how this critical bill would help prevent the widespread scalping of tickets to the popular show.

“I have received countless letters from children and parents appealing to me to help them access tickets to Hamilton,” Seller testified. “They have simply been unable to obtain tickets at our regular prices. Why? Because every time we put a new block of tickets on sale, the ‘robots’ or ‘bots’ have invaded the Ticketmaster system the second they went on sale, and then electronically purchased almost all of the available inventory. Then they re-post the tickets on multiple secondary ticketing sites or fan exchanges at prices that are up to ten times their face value. Hamilton tickets have regularly been sold in excess of $1,000…We need a level playing field. And we need to prevent BOTS from tampering with a system that is designed to allow all consumers access to tickets at face value. This is why I wholeheartedly support the BOTS act.”

Today’s hearing also included testimony from the Big 12 Commissioner and representatives from StubHub and Ticketfly, who join Seller in support of the bill.

During his opening statement, Blumenthal submitted a written statement from New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman for the hearing record. In January, Schneiderman released the results of a wide-ranging investigation into the concert and sports industry, which uncovered practices and abuses that prevent consumers from accessing tickets at affordable prices – or even accessing them at all.

“Ticket scalping is not a victimless abuse,” Blumenthal said. “Special software, known as ‘ticket bots,’ literally devour the best tickets at high-speeds—making it impossible for ordinary Americans to buy tickets at a reasonable price. This hurts their pocketbooks as well as their cultural hopes and aspirations.”

Tickets for popular events with high demand sell out almost immediately after they become available, leaving average consumers often unable to purchase tickets directly from a primary ticket vendor. Instead, consumers are forced to purchase from a third party through a ticket resale platform, where they can often expect to pay prices many times the ticket’s face value.

One of the chief reasons for this lack of ticket availability has become the use of “ticket bots” – inexpensive software programs that automatically locate and purchase large quantities of tickets offered for sale online through primary ticket vendors such as Ticketmaster. In a matter of seconds, third-party brokers using ticket bots can purchase hundreds or thousands of tickets, thereby squeezing out consumers. Blumenthal introduced the BOTS Act with U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-KS), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Deb Fischer (R-NE) in July to help put an end to this growing practice.

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