A ticket bot is a type of software that automates the process of purchasing tickets online for events like concerts, sports games, theater shows, and more. Ticket bots have become increasingly common over the past several years as events sell out faster and tickets get resold at higher prices.
How do ticket bots work?
Ticket bots are programmed to automatically search for and purchase tickets the moment they go on sale. The bots can complete orders far faster than any human could manually. They are able to fill out forms, bypass CAPTCHA tests, and submit payment details almost instantly. Many ticket bots run on custom software, while others may use web browsers with autofill features enabled.
Ticket bots connect to the host website and repeatedly refresh the page. As soon as the tickets go live, the bot identifies the precise buttons to click and fields to populate. It might add tickets to the cart and check out within a few seconds. The bot owner can configure settings like quantity, price range, seat preferences, and more.
Why are ticket bots used?
There are a couple primary motivations for using ticket bots:
- Reselling tickets – Many bot users aim to purchase as many tickets as possible in order to resell them later at a higher price. They may sell the tickets on secondary markets like StubHub or Craigslist.
- Personal use – Some people use bots just to gain an advantage in buying tickets for themselves, guaranteeing they can get seats before a show sells out.
Professional ticket scalpers and resellers often rely on bots to buy large volumes of tickets that they can markup 200-1000% or more. Bots enable them to corner the market on in-demand events.
Are ticket bots legal?
Ticket bots exist in a legal gray area. They don’t necessarily violate any criminal laws, but their use does go against the terms of service of most major ticket sellers. Ticketmaster, AXS, Stubhub and others prohibit bots in their user agreements. These companies have lobbied for anti-bot legislation.
Some states such as New York and Oregon have banned ticket bots by passing laws against their use. The Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act was introduced in the U.S. Congress in 2016 to outlaw bot usage nationwide, but it has not yet passed.
Enforcement remains difficult, and many resellers continue using bots despite the controversy surrounding them. Ticket fraud and anti-scalping laws may apply in cases where bots are used to manipulate prices and mislead buyers.
Examples of ticket bots
There are various custom bot software programs used by scalpers and resellers to purchase tickets. Some examples include:
- TicketBrother
- Ticketbot
- TicketmasterHook
- Ticketsbot
- AIO Bot
These programs allow configuring many aspects of the bot like target ticket quantity, price filters, login credentials, and server proxies. Some ticket companies have succeeded in blocking certain bots, leading to an ongoing cat and mouse game.
Impacts of ticket bots
Ticket bots have some notable impacts on various parties:
Fans
- Reduced ability to purchase tickets at face value prices
- Higher prices on secondary markets
- Less fair system for buying tickets
Ticket sellers
- Lost revenue from inflated resale prices
- Customer dissatisfaction and PR problems
- Costs to invest in anti-bot defenses
Artists and teams
- Loss of control over distribution and pricing
- Reputational risks when fans cannot get affordable tickets
Bots can reduce accessibility to events for the general public and distort a formerly fair ticket market.
Defenses against ticket bots
Ticket sellers use a variety of strategies to defend against ticket bots:
- CAPTCHAs – Tests requiring human input that bots cannot complete.
- Purchase limits – Restrictions on the maximum number of tickets per order.
- Randomized release times – Tickets go on sale at unpredictable times.
- User account checks – Requiring an account history and prior purchases.
- IP monitoring – Blocking orders from suspected bot IP addresses.
However, sophisticated bots have still managed to bypass many of these protections. Completely eliminating ticket bots may require new legislation and enforcement methods.
Ethical considerations
Ticket bots raise some ethical concerns:
- They disproportionately benefit ticket resellers over the general public.
- Artists lose control over pricing and access to their events.
- Less tech-savvy groups are disadvantaged in buying tickets.
- Bots remove human competition and interaction from the ticketing process.
Critics view the use of ticket bots as selfish, unfair, and damaging to the fan experience. Others argue bots are innovative technology providing more choices in ticket distribution.
The future of ticket bots
It remains to be seen how ticket bots will evolve going forward. Some possibilities include:
- New legislation banning bots emerges
- Sellers find better technical defenses against bots
- Ethical questions limit bot usage
- Bot technology grows more advanced and widespread
- More events move to lottery-based ticket sales
In an ideal world, purely human competition would dictate fair ticket access. But as long as major profits from ticket resales persist, bots will likely remain prevalent, for better or worse.
Conclusion
Ticket bots are automated purchase tools that have become highly controversial in recent years. They enable quick buying and reselling of event tickets at inflated prices. Bots provide significant advantages to scalpers and resellers over the average fan. While no laws federally ban bot usage, some states prohibit it and ticket sellers try technical defenses against bots. Their impacts reduce ticket accessibility and frustrate both artists and fans. The debate continues around finding an equitable solution for event ticketing in the digital age.