Is Scalping Tickets Illegal?

Business, Money

Going to a concert venue or ball game is great, if one has a ticket. If not, fans may have to deal with a scalper, and while typically these transactions occur quickly and safely, most buyers are unaware that they may be dancing in the gray area of the law.

The legality of scalping tickets, which is generally understood as reselling a ticket for profit, varies from state to state. Currently there is no federal law against ticket scalping, so those who buy tickets off shifty-eyed individuals wandering outside of the arena or stadium can at least rest assured that there won’t be FBI agents banging down their door.

However, scalping tickets is illegal in a number of states, and what precisely is and isn’t a crime varies among those states. According to a report from Connecticut’s Office of Legislative (OLR) research, there are 27 states that have laws regarding ticket reselling.

Arkansas

The state of Arkansas prohibits the reselling of tickets to high school or collegiate events, but allows ticket resellers to charge a reasonable service fee at concert venues.

California

According to the California Penal Code, it is illegal to resell tickets on the premises of a venue without permission.

Connecticut

Connecticut is one of 11 states that prohibit ticket scalping, but like a number of these states, the Constitution State allows tickets to be resold with a reasonable service charge, which as of 2006 was $3.

Florida

Florida allows tickets to be resold at $1 more than face value in most instances, although reselling tickets is forbidden on the grounds of the venue where the event takes place. However, the Sunshine State allows for websites that receive authorization from the original seller, offer refunds and discloses its position as not the original seller to resell tickets without any limits in regard to price.

Illinois

The Land of Lincoln allows for the resale of tickets but it places a number of regulations on those who are allowed to do so. Registered ticket brokers and websites are allowed to sell tickets if they maintain an office in the state, pay an annual $100 fee, disclose their refund policy and maintain a $100,000 in-state cash account to meet the needs of any customer complaints. However, brokers are not allowed to sell the tickets “near the facility,” according to the OLR report.

New York

Those who resell tickets in the Empire State must be licensed by the area in which they are reselling them in addition to posting a bond. If the venue of the event seats more than 6,000 people, ticket resellers can charge 45 percent more than the face value of the ticket, while tickets for venues with smaller capacities can be 20 percent higher than the ticket. These resellers must also guarantee refunds, along with a number of other provisions.