SPRINGFIELD – As ticket-buying becomes more competitive, State Senator Steve Stadelman is working to strengthen consumer protections in the ticket sales marketplace, prevent the use of bots from buying up tickets and crack down on deceptive online purchasing practices.

“Fans should have a fair shot at buying tickets at the advertised price without competing against bots or being misled by deceptive sellers,” said Stadelman (D-Rockford). “This legislation increases transparency and helps protect consumers from unfair practices in the ticket marketplace.”

As artificial intelligence proliferates in the ticket sales marketplace, consumers are increasingly forced to compete against automated bots that bypass ticket limits, deceptive resale websites that appear to be officially affiliated with artists or venues, and hidden ticket inventory that is withheld from public sale without disclosure. Existing federal protections address some of these issues, but gaps in enforcement and transparency continue to frustrate consumers when attempting to purchase event tickets.

Senate Bill 318 would create the Prohibition on Bots Purchasing Tickets Act to prohibit the use of bots, multiple accounts or email addresses to circumvent posted ticket purchasing limits during online ticket sales. The legislation would also prohibit ticket resellers from falsely representing that they are affiliated with an artist, team, venue or event organizer in a way that could mislead consumers.

The measure would additionally require venues and ticket issuers to disclose the number of tickets withheld from public sale whenever tickets for an event are offered for purchase.

“Consumers deserve honesty and transparency when buying tickets online,” Stadelman said. “This bill helps level the playing field for fans and gives enforcement agencies stronger tools to hold bad actors accountable.”

Senate Bill 318 – which is part of the Senate’s AI protection package – passed the Senate Executive Committee Wednesday.