California is taking action against the sale of \u201cghost tickets.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday signed a bipartisan bill, AB-1349<\/a>, that targets the live-event ticket resale market. \u201cGhost tickets,\u201d also known as speculative tickets<\/a>, are concert and sports tickets that resellers list before they actually have them. The new law bars sellers from advertising, listing or selling tickets they don\u2019t possess or have the legal right to receive, unless the event\u2019s presenter or venue allows it. It\u2019s intended to address persistent complaints from consumers<\/a> about the practice.<\/p>\n \u201cBuying a ticket shouldn\u2019t come with hidden risks or unfair practices,\u201d said Newsom on X.<\/p>\n The law prohibits using software to get around ticket limits, queue and presale restrictions. It restricts websites and ads designed to make resellers look like authorized ticket sources. Sellers in violation could face misdemeanor charges and penalties.<\/p>\n But Newsom signed the bill with reservations. In a statement, the governor said the measure appears to take \u201can uneven approach allowing select ticket sellers to avoid certain obligations under the bill.\u201d He urged the bill\u2019s author Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (D-55) to refine the law. <\/p>\n \u201cWhile there may be good reasons for exempting certain sellers from the bill\u2019s provisions, such a carve-out deserves further discussion,\u201d Newsom wrote.<\/p>\n Newsom didn\u2019t say which sellers he meant. His concerns allude to The final version excludes resale marketplaces from the definition of a speculative ticket seller. It does still bar them from knowingly or recklessly facilitating such sales, and it requires them to take \u201creasonable measures\u201d to prevent them. The law also exempts California pro sports teams and venues that manage their own ticket inventory.<\/p>\n The National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) initially supported the bill but urged Newsom to veto it after it was amended. The group said the final version creates a private right of action for speculative ticket sales that applies to independent venues, festivals and presenters, while explicitly exempting resale marketplaces from being classified as speculative ticket sellers.<\/p>\n \u201cAB 1349 could have been an opportunity to stop the sale of ghost tickets,\u201d said the association\u2019s executive director, Stephen Parker, in a statement. \u201cIt puts the small businesses and nonprofits that put on shows every night at risk. And, it endangers fans\u2019 economic well-being.\u201d<\/p>\n When the bill was first introduced last year, Live Nation<\/a>, the entertainment giant behind Ticketmaster, supported it<\/a>. Ticket reseller StubHub<\/a> lobbied against it. According to CalMatters, StubHub spent $4.4 million during the two-year legislative session lobbying on the measure and several other bills.<\/p>\n In the end, StubHub supported the final version of the bill. Live Nation did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n As ticket prices for live events<\/a> like concerts and sporting games<\/a> continue to surge, dozens of legislative bills focused on event ticketing issues are emerging throughout the U.S. California now joins states like Maryland, Minnesota and Maine that have similarly placed restrictions on the sale of speculative tickets.<\/p>\n
to amendments made in the final days of the legislative session. Critics say those changes effectively exempt StubHub, one of the biggest ticket resale platforms from the new rules. <\/p>\n