The agency cites deceptive pricing, bot-enabled scalping, and billions in potential penalties under the BOTS Act.
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The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has filed a lawsuit against Ticketmaster and parent company Live Nation, accusing them of enabling illegal ticket resale tactics, including the use of bots and deceptive pricing.
Filed in California, the complaint alleges that Ticketmaster allowed scalpers to use bots to purchase tickets in bulk and resell them at markups as high as 500%, violating the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act. Each violation carries a possible $53,000 fine, with total penalties potentially reaching into the hundreds of billions.
The FTC also claims Ticketmaster misleads customers by listing artificially low prices that rise significantly at checkout due to hidden fees—sometimes increasing the final cost by over 30%. The agency argues that Ticketmaster profits from these resales and has avoided deploying stronger anti-bot measures to protect its revenue.
“It should not cost an arm and a leg to take the family to a baseball game, or attend your favourite musician’s show,” said FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson.
Live Nation responded in March, stating it supports reforms including stronger BOTS Act enforcement and resale price caps. The lawsuit follows a separate antitrust case filed by the U.S. Department of Justice, which accused Live Nation of monopolizing the live music industry since its 2010 merger with Ticketmaster.
More updates here.
