OLYMPIA—Legislation sponsored by State Rep. Kevin Van De Wege, D-Sequim, passed the Washington House of Representatives unanimously today with a vote of 98-0 in favor, and will be sent to the State Senate for its consideration.
“Today, the House stood up to companies that unfairly drive up the cost of tickets to events in Washington state,” said Van De Wege. “We are for fair competition and fair practices that don’t abuse the system. This is a big win for consumers and for the free market.”
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.