In recent years, the use of ticket bots has become an increasingly controversial issue in the live event industry. Ticket bots, also known as ticket scalpers, are software programs that automate the process of searching for and buying tickets online. They allow scalpers to quickly buy up large quantities of tickets, particularly for popular shows and sporting events, before regular fans have a chance to purchase them. This often drives up prices on secondary resale sites like StubHub. So is using ticket bots actually illegal? Let’s take a closer look.
The Basics of Ticket Bots
Ticket bots operate by continuously searching ticket seller websites for available tickets. As soon as tickets go on sale, the bots can complete orders far faster than any human could. They also allow scalpers to buy tickets from multiple accounts and web browsers simultaneously. This gives them an unfair advantage over the general public.
Those who use ticket bots then often resell the tickets on secondary market sites at significant markups compared to the original price. Some professional scalpers are able to buy thousands of tickets within minutes of the on-sale time using bots. They can rake in huge profits from in-demand shows and games.
Ticketmaster is one of the main targets for ticket bots. As one of the largest primary ticket sellers, many high-profile events use Ticketmaster to sell their initial batch of tickets. Scalpers deploy bots on Ticketmaster right as tickets go on sale to buy up inventory before fans can get their hands on it.
Anti Bot Legislation
In recent years, many states have enacted anti bot laws to crack down on the use of ticket bots. New York was the first state to pass anti bot legislation with the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act in 2016. Under this law:
- It is illegal to use bots to buy tickets with the intent to resell them.
- Violators can face fines of up to $1,000 per infraction.
- Tickets obtained through bots cannot be resold within New York.
Since New York’s landmark legislation, over 30 other states have passed their own versions of anti bot laws. Some have enacted even harsher punishments. For example, in Texas, using a bot is a Class C misdemeanor that can lead to jail time.
In 2016, the Better Online Ticket Sales Act was introduced as federal legislation to combat bots and prohibit their circumvention of security measures. It has not yet become law, but its introduction indicates momentum for regulation at the national level.
Ticketmaster’s Efforts Against Bots
Ticketmaster has also taken measures on its own to fight back against bots. In 2013, it sued ticket resale site RMG Technologies for allegedly creating bots that illegally bought over 60,000 tickets through Ticketmaster. The two parties settled in 2014, with RMG agreeing to stop using bots.
More recently, Ticketmaster acquired and integrated anti bot technology from digital strategy company UPGRADED. This allows Ticketmaster to monitor high volumes of traffic and identify bot activity. When a bot is detected, it can block the user from making ticket purchases.
In 2019, Ticketmaster went so far as to sue nearly two dozen individuals it accused of using bots to unfairly obtain tickets. The defendants were each sued for hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages.
Despite Ticketmaster’s technological advances and legal action, bots remain a persistent problem. A single bot operation can involve thousands of fake accounts and IP addresses, making enforcement difficult.
Is it Actually Illegal?
Whether it’s illegal or not depends on a few key factors:
- Location – If you use a ticket bot within a state that has clear anti bot laws, then yes it is illegal. States like New York have established fines for anyone caught using this software. But if you are in a state without specific bot regulations, the legality is more of a gray area.
- Purpose of Use – Most anti bot laws focus specifically on prohibiting bots when the intent is to resell tickets. So if you develop or use a bot just for your own personal ticket purchases, it’s less likely to be illegal.
- Terms of Service Violations – Virtually all major ticket sellers like Ticketmaster specifically prohibit bots in their terms of service. So bot use would be considered a contractual violation.
- Circumvention of Security Measures – Ticket sites actively try to block bots with various security tools like CAPTCHA. Bot programs that circumvent these measures could violate anti-hacking laws.
While bots operate in a legal gray area in some cases, if you blatantly use them to sweep up tickets and resell them, you are very likely breaking the law. It’s a risky practice as more jurisdictions crack down.
Ethical and Practical Considerations
Beyond simple legality, there are some ethical implications to consider when using ticket bots:
- Bots crowd out every day fans from buying tickets at face value prices.
- They enable scalpers to impose significant markups, making events too expensive for some attendees.
- Artists and event organizers lose out on revenue that instead goes to scalpers and secondary sellers.
- Less tech savvy groups like seniors and disabled individuals can’t compete against lightning fast bots.
These factors have led many to campaign against the use of ticket bots on moral and ethical grounds. Public opinion is firmly against their use to snap up tickets.
There are also practical risks to operating a large scale bot network:
- Requires extensive infrastructure and computing resources
- High risk of having accounts and credit cards shut down by vendors
- Possibility of facing lawsuits or criminal charges
- Ongoing “arms race” as sites implement new bot protection
Given the costs and risks involved with uncertain financial gain, bots may not be worth the effort for small time operators. Larger scam rings are more capable of managing bot networks while also shielding individual identities.
Conclusion
In summary, while the legality depends on the specific circumstances, using bots to unfairly buy event tickets crosses ethical boundaries and damages the live entertainment industry. As more states enact laws explicitly banning their use, operating a ticket bot becomes increasingly high risk. From both a legal and a practical standpoint, fans and casual resellers should avoid bots to purchase tickets. Large scale bot networks require technical expertise to stay under the radar of authorities. But even major operators sometimes find themselves in the crosshairs of regulators, police, and anti bot vendors when their schemes go too far.