Ticketmaster sued for 'ruthless' resale of concert tickets via bots

The Federal Trade Commission and seven U.S. states allege that Ticketmaster "systematically ignored" the bots' practices, according to a lawsuit filed with a California judge.

The company would be violating laws designed to prevent the bulk buying of tickets, with potential penalties of over $50,000 per violation. According to Bloomberg, the lawsuit could be costly for Ticketmaster, with billions of dollars in fines.

The "unlawful practices and tacit cooperation with retailers" are harming music fans, according to the FTC. After all, fans pay top dollar for their concert tickets. Ticketmaster turns a blind eye because it makes "triple" profits from the trade. This includes a commission on the initial sale, but also on resale through both the buyer and seller, the market watchdog states.

Ticketbots are computer programs that automatically buy tickets. "A computer is much faster than a regular user," says Wouter van Dijke, technology editor at RTL Z.

Moreover, a bot can make dozens of connections simultaneously, increasing its chances of getting tickets. "It's a bit like trying to score concert tickets on both your phone and your laptop, but on a much larger scale. It's then difficult for regular users to get in on the action."

Websites like Ticketmaster can use all sorts of techniques to ward off bots, explains tech editor Van Dijke. "For example, through captchas— forms that require you to click on things like bicycles or pedestrian crossings. But Ticketmaster is accused of benefiting from reselling, which is why they rarely take action against these bots."

So many bots are being used at some concerts that Ticketmaster's servers are even overloaded, according to Van Dijke. And traders are sometimes even reselling those tickets for double the original price.

The bots aren't just an American problem; the Dutch company Ticketswap, for example, is also affected . And in the music industry, 'bots' are creating fake music to profit from.

Parent company Live Nation declined to comment to Bloomberg. Ticketmaster in the Netherlands also did not respond to questions from RTL Z about the matter. According to the complaint, the company did investigate restricting resale to intermediaries, but this would have a "significant" impact on revenue.

FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said in an interview with CNBC that Ticketmaster charges commissions of between 24 and 44 percent on initial ticket sales. Between 2019 and 2024, the company reportedly raked in the equivalent of over €9 billion.

The FTC also provides examples in the complaint. For example, a trader allegedly purchased 772 tickets for a Coldplay concert via bots for $81,000 and then resold them for a total of $170,000.

Under the influence of the Trump administration, the FTC has stepped up its oversight of ticket sales. Trump wants to see better enforcement of various laws, including the BOTS Act.