To require sellers of event tickets to disclose comprehensive information to consumers about ticket prices and related fees.
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
What This Bill Does
The TICKET Act (Transparency In Charges for Key Events Ticketing Act) requires ticket issuers and secondary market resellers to display all-inclusive total event ticket prices upfront in all advertisements, marketing, and at point of sale. It mandates clear itemization of base prices and all fees, and requires disclosure when a seller does not actually possess the ticket being sold. Violations are treated as unfair or deceptive trade practices under FTC authority.
Who Benefits and How
Event ticket purchasers benefit from price transparency and elimination of hidden fees that inflate final prices. The FTC gains explicit enforcement authority over ticket pricing practices.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Ticket issuers (such as Ticketmaster) and secondary market ticket resellers face new compliance mandates to restructure pricing displays and marketing, with potential FTC penalties for violations. Companies whose business models rely on drip pricing or hidden fees face the most significant impact.
Key Provisions
- Section 2: Defines key terms including total event ticket price, event ticket fee, base event ticket price, and secondary market ticket issuer
- Section 3: Mandates all-inclusive price display within 90-120 days, requires fee itemization, and mandates disclosure when tickets are not in possession
- Section 4: Establishes FTC enforcement of violations as unfair or deceptive trade practices
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Requires ticket issuers and secondary market ticket resellers to display all-inclusive total prices upfront for event tickets, banning hidden fees, and enforces violations through the Federal Trade Commission.
Key Policy Areas
Consumer Protection, Commerce, Entertainment & Live Events
Primary Purpose
Requires ticket issuers and secondary market ticket resellers to display all-inclusive total prices upfront for event tickets, banning hidden fees, and enforces violations through the Federal Trade Commission.
Policy Domains
Whole Bill - Event Ticket Price Transparency
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Event ticket purchasers/consumers
- Federal Trade Commission
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Primary ticket issuers (e.g., Ticketmaster)
- Secondary market ticket resellers (e.g., StubHub)
- Event venues
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Sponsors
Ted Cruz
R-TX | Primary Sponsor
Legislative Progress
ReportedReported by Ms. Cantwell, with an amendment
Mr. Cruz (for himself and Ms. Cantwell) introduced the following …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Primary ticket issuers, Primary ticket issuers (e.g., Ticketmaster), Secondary market ticket resellers
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_commission"
- → Federal Trade Commission
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
The total cost of an event ticket including base price and all event ticket fees.
Any charge paid in addition to base price to obtain a ticket, including service fees, processing fees, delivery fees, facility charges, taxes, but excluding optional products or services.
The price of an event ticket excluding all event ticket fees.
Any entity in the regular course of business that resells or makes secondary sales of event tickets to the general public.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology