Proposal to decriminalize ticket scalping approved by Michigan House The bills are the latest attempt to decriminalize scalping in Michigan after similar laws died in 2018 and several other years. The Senate Committee on Economic Affairs and Small Business Development heard statements Thursday from lawmakers and stakeholders representing online ticketing platforms. LANSING, MI — Two bipartisan bills proposed by Michigan lawmakers would legalize the resale of event tickets while cracking down on online scalpers who manipulate ticket bidding to make money. Until now, it was illegal in Michigan to resell tickets at a price higher than their face value. Yes, those guys you`d see hanging out of the room offering tickets are breaking the law if they charge you more than the printed price. This law applied to events such as « entry into a theatre, circus, sports game or place of public entertainment or entertainment ». At its core, promotion decriminalizes the resale of tickets for live events for more than face value. It includes additional language requiring the seller to have « actual possession or control » of a ticket before it can be offered for sale and prohibits the use of automated programs or « robots » when purchasing tickets in the United States. Senate Bill 384 was sponsored by Senator Erika Geiss, D-Taylor, and Senate Bill 385 sponsored by Senator Tom Barrett, R-Charlotte. Michigan Gov.
Gretchen Whitmer signed a law that legalized ticket resale in the state and ended a long-standing, but rarely enforced, ban on selling tickets at more than face value. Senate Bills 384 and 385 were signed into law last week after being passed by lawmakers in September. Michigan`s scalping ban has been in effect since at least 1931. Bills to repeal or amend the law have been introduced every two years since at least 2012. The new provisions will come into force in 90 days. It will take much longer before we have concerts for which we can buy tickets. State House lawmakers passed a bill Tuesday that would lift Michigan`s ban on ticket scalping while preventing software or practices that disrupt a venue`s ticket sales. Representatives of online ticketing platforms StubHub and TicketNetwork generally supported the legislation. Companies offer a secondary market where people can sell their tickets after buying them directly on the spot. The second provision of these new laws prohibits robots, software and websites that buy tickets en masse.
Individuals who operate or use websites or distribute or sell software who purchase the best tickets immediately upon first sale will be subject to a fine of $500 and imprisonment for up to 93 days. The Senate approved a version of the measure in January and must approve the changes made by the House of Representatives. The main bill, passed by 91 votes to 14, would also ban the use of « bot » software to disrupt restrictions on buying tickets online. Brokers were able to obtain hundreds of tickets within seconds of starting sales. The bill would end the ban on reselling tickets at a price higher than their face value. Currently, the law only allows scalping if a place allows excessive fees in writing. Offences are punishable by imprisonment and a fine. LANSING, Mich. (WILX) — A new bill signed by Michigan Governor Whitmer has legalized the sale of an event ticket for more than face value.
Michigan`s ban on reselling event tickets at prices above face value has been in effect since 1931. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed legislation in 2014 and 2018 to lift the state`s rarely enforced ban on scalping tickets to games, concerts, and other entertainment events, but each time it died in the GOP-controlled Senate. To protect consumers from fraud, the law requires the seller to physically own or control the ticket before offering it for resale. The package also prohibits the practice of using, selling, buying or owning « ticketing robot » software, which buys large quantities of event tickets and bypasses a seller`s purchase limits. « In Michigan right now, it would be more legal to put marijuana in your ticket and smoke it than to sell it to another spectator, » Barrett said. « For me, that`s wrong. We`re currently in the process of decriminalizing a lot of activity in our state, I think a lot of that effort is a good thing. Michigan moved closer Tuesday to lift the state`s ban on scalping bills as a six-year attempt to reform the law gained momentum.