Ticket bots have become an increasingly common sight in recent years as demand for concert, sports, and other event tickets continues to grow. These automated programs allow users to quickly purchase tickets the moment they go on sale, beating out regular fans trying to buy tickets manually. While helpful for some, ticket bots have also caused frustration by making popular events sell out in seconds. This has led many to wonder – who originally created ticket bot technology?
The origins of ticket bots
Ticket bots grew out of the emerging practice of ticket brokers using technical means to gain an advantage in buying tickets in the 1990s and early 2000s. During this time, ticket reselling was becoming a lucrative business as secondary ticket markets like StubHub gained popularity. Those able to acquire in-demand tickets could resell them for well above face value.
In the early 2000s, brokers began using automated software programs called ticket bots to purchase tickets more quickly than humanly possible. These rudimentary bots would continually refresh ticket sale web pages and make purchases as soon as tickets were available. This allowed the bot operators to buy large quantities of tickets before regular fans even had a chance.
Some of the earliest known ticket brokers utilizing these techniques were Wiseguy Tickets, Eddie Marks, and RMG Technologies. Companies like these realized the profit potential of automating ticket purchases and raced to develop ever more sophisticated ticket bots.
Wiseguy Tickets
Wiseguy Tickets was a Phoenix, Arizona-based ticket broker run by Jerry Scaturro. In 2002, Wiseguy began using automated bots to buy tickets and resell them on online secondary markets. The bots automatically submitted ticket requests the moment sales began, allowing Wiseguy to acquire a majority of available tickets.
Wiseguy’s tactics sparked outrage from fans and concert promoters alike. But the company argued they were simply taking advantage of free and open computer systems. After numerous lawsuits, Wiseguy Tickets went out of business in 2007 following a court ruling that some of their ticket bot activities violated anti-hacking laws.
RMG Technologies
Around the same time Wiseguy Tickets was dissolving, RMG Technologies was rising to prominence in the ticket bot industry. The company was founded in Pittsburgh in 2005 by programmer Ronald Eintstein. RMG specialized in developing advanced ticket-buying bots and worked with brokers to automate their ticket purchasing.
RMG’s bots used sophisticated algorithms to solve CAPTCHA security tests and rapidly fill in checkout forms. This enabled brokers to mass purchase tickets from major ticket vendors like Ticketmaster. By 2009, RMG’s clients were estimated to account for 90% of all tickets resold online.
RMG Technologies continues to be a major player in the ticket bot industry. The company develops strategies to circumvent security measures and allow clients to quickly buy tickets for resale.
The spread of ticket bot use
In the late 2000s and 2010s, ticket bots grew from a tool used by a handful of large brokers to an epidemic plaguing nearly all major live events. Below are some of the factors that enabled the proliferation of ticket bots across the industry:
- Code sharing – Bot code was shared on forums and marketplaces, allowing anyone to start running bots.
- Cloud computing – Services like cloud hosting and serverless computing made it easy and affordable to run large bot networks.
- Growth of secondary markets – Demand and profits from ticket resales incentivized mass use of bots.
- Limited anti-bot laws – Slow government response allowed bots to multiply faster than regulatory measures.
Whereas bots were once concentrated among brokers, they spread to everyday resellers looking to make extra money on ticket markups. Bots also expanded from targeting primarily concert tickets to sports, theater, and other events.
It is estimated hundreds of millions of tickets per year in the United States alone are now purchased using bots. This has amounted to billions in revenue for resellers, much of it siphoned away from primary ticket sellers and artists.
Noteworthy ticket bot events
Below are some notable examples of ticket bots causing havoc for major concerts and events:
2013 Beyoncé tour
Beyoncé’s 2013 Mrs. Carter Show World Tour was plagued by ticket bots snatching up seats. In one publicized case, all $85 face value floor seats for her Los Angeles shows sold out in 12 seconds. It was revealed bots acquired large blocks of tickets later resold for over $10,000 each.
2014 World Cup
Ticket bots wreaked havoc on 2014 FIFA World Cup sales. Over 330,000 tickets were voided and reclaimed after bots bought them up and put them on resale sites at inflated prices. Many fans were unable to get affordable tickets due to bots snatching them up.
2016 Olympics
Up to half the tickets for the 2016 Rio Olympics were immediately scooped up by scalpers using bots, according to Brazilian officials. Fans reported paying 10 times the face value or more for highly sought after events.
2017 Hamilton
When the smash Broadway hit Hamilton released more tickets in January 2017, bots acquired nearly all of them within minutes. Third-party resellers were offering tickets for thousands of dollars above face value before regular fans could buy.
These and countless other events underscored how out of control ticket bots had become. Public demand grew for lawmakers and ticket sellers to curb automated purchasing.
Anti-bot measures
With ticket bots becoming so pervasive in the 2010s, the industry responded with various countermeasures aimed at limiting their capabilities. These included:
CAPTCHA security
Ticketing sites added more sophisticated CAPTCHA tests to make it harder for bots to mimic human users. However, specialized bot creators have found ways around many of these protections.
Purchase limits
Many ticketing platforms now enforce strict purchase limits to cut down on bulk bot buying. However, bot operators use armies of accounts and IP addresses to work around limits.
Legislation
A federal anti-bot law, the BOTS Act, was passed in 2016 prohibiting the circumvention of ticket purchasing rules. However, the law’s efficacy is debated, as bot activity remains widespread.
A summary of common anti-bot measures:
Measure | Description |
---|---|
CAPTCHA | Security tests to confirm human users |
Purchase limits | Restrictions on maximum tickets per order |
Cancelations | Voiding of suspected bulk bot purchases |
Legislation | Laws prohibiting circumvention of ticket rules |
While these efforts have slowed some bot activities, bots remain a major problem today. The ongoing bot arms race exemplifies the difficulties in policing Internet-enabled software tools.
Ethical concerns over ticket bots
The prevalence of ticket bots has raised ethical debates over whether their use should be allowed or restricted. Proponents of ticket bots argue:
- Bots represent free market competition and innovation.
- They allow those unable to wait in lines the chance to buy tickets.
- The secondary market brings more efficiency through variable pricing.
However, critics counter that bots:
- Unfairly restrict regular fans from buying tickets at listed prices.
- Drive up prices and fees on secondary markets.
- Incentivize bulk scalping over individuals fairly buying tickets.
Public opinion has largely turned against ticket bots in recent years due to their association with scalpers. But bans remain controversial among some economists and technology advocates.
The future of ticket bots
Looking ahead, it remains to be seen whether new technologies or regulations will curb ticket bot usage:
- Blockchain ticketing – Cryptographically secure ledgers could neutralize bots.
- AI security – AI could generate highly advanced CAPTCHAs and behavioral analysis to stop bots.
- Strict laws – Laws with harsher punishments could further deter mass bot use.
- Ethical brokers – Pressure could reduce bot use among brokers favoring “fair” ticket access.
However, bot coders show no signs of stopping as long as opportunities for profit persist. And bots are spreading to other domains like e-commerce, gaming, and website scraping.
The cat-and-mouse game between bots, anti-bot measures, and evolving bot techniques is likely to continue Playing out for the foreseeable future.
Conclusion
In summary, ticket bots emerged in the early 2000s as ticket brokers sought to gain an advantage in the growing online secondary market. Software algorithms and automation allowed mass purchasing of tickets for resale at high profits. Bot use quickly spread through the 2000s and 2010s as more individuals and groups recognized the practice’s money-making potential.
High-profile tour debacles led to waves of anti-bot measures, ranging from CAPTCHAs to legislation. However, dedicated bot creators have continued finding ways around restrictions. Bots remain pervasive in ticket sales, sparking a complex debate around fairness, ethics, and regulating software tools.
Ongoing technology innovations and evolving regulations will determine if ticket bots continue their dominance over box offices. But for now, these automated purchasing programs remain a lynchpin of the massive ticket resale industry.