WASHINGTON STATE

Washington State House Democrats

HOUSE DEMOCRATS

Rep. Van De Wege Introduces Legislation to Outlaw “Ticket Bots”

Scalpers who use software to drive up ticket prices could face penalties
under Consumer Protection Act

OLYMPIA—State Representative Kevin Van De Wege, D-Sequim, announced today that his proposed legislation, House Bill 1091, has been scheduled to be voted on in the Technology & Economic Development Committee next week. Voting to recommend the legislation forward is the next step in the process.

“Just like we see Wall Street abusing computer software to drive up the sale of stock, there are companies out there using these ticket bots to unfairly drive up cost of tickets to see our favorite bands and sports teams,” said Rep. Van De Wege. “It’s unfair, interferes with the fair market system, and hurts consumers. We need to put a stop to this kind of abuse.”

Ticket bots are computer programs that are very good at repetitive tasks. People use the bots to simulate the action of human beings buying tickets for events, avoiding website security measures and controls meant to limit the number of tickets any individual can purchase.

People can use the software to buy so many seats they control the secondary market, forcing people to pay far more than face value and ensuring a hefty profit for themselves.

According to the Seattle Theater Group, as much as 20 percent of the inventory for some shows is being purchased by bots.

HB 1091 bans the use of ticket bots, and anyone using or selling software to circumvent, thwart, interfere with or evade any security measure or access control system on a ticket seller’s website would be in violation of the state Consumer Protection Act.