Read the full stored bill text
hb563_02_PH
As Passed by the House
136th
General Assembly
Regular
Session
Sub. H. B. No. 563
2025-2026
Representative Hiner
Cosponsors: Representatives
Johnson, Fischer, Abdullahi, Brennan, Claggett, Cockley, Daniels,
Demetriou, Glassburn, Holmes, Jarrells, McNally, Miller, M., Mohamed,
Ritter, Rogers, Russo, Salvo, Sigrist, Sims, Somani, Tims, White, E.,
Williams, Willis, Workman, Young
To
enact sections 1345.53 and 1345.54 of the Revised Code
to
regulate ticket sales.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section
1.
That
sections 1345.53 and 1345.54 of the Revised Code be enacted to read
as follows:
Sec.
1345.53.
(A)
As used in this section and section 1345.54 of the Revised Code:
(1)
"Entertainment" means all forms of entertainment, including
theatrical or operatic performances, dance, ballet, concerts, motion
pictures, entertainment at fairgrounds, amusement parks, athletic
competitions and other sports, and all other forms of diversion,
recreation, or show.
(2)
"Internet domain name" means a globally unique,
hierarchical reference to an internet host or service, which is
assigned through a centralized internet naming authority and which is
composed of a series of character strings separated by periods with
the rightmost string specifying the top of the hierarchy.
(3)
"Online ticket marketplace" means the administrator of a
web site or other electronic service, including an agent, employee,
or assignee of the administrator, that sells tickets or maintains a
platform to facilitate the sale of tickets.
(4)
"Operator" means a person, including an agent, employee, or
assignee of the person who does one or more of the following:
(a)
Owns, operates, or controls a place of entertainment;
(b)
Produces entertainment;
(c)
Sells a ticket to a place of entertainment for original sale.
(5)
"Place of entertainment" means an entertainment facility,
including an amphitheater, theater, stadium, arena, racetrack,
museum, amusement park, venue, club, or other place where
performances, concerts, exhibits, athletic games, contests, or other
forms of entertainment are held in this state.
(6)
"Ticket-buying session" means an online interaction between
a purchaser and an online ticket marketplace, operator, or ticket
reseller measured as from the time a purchaser selects a specific
ticket and either completes the purchase or the session times out.
(7)(a)
"Ticket reseller" means a person that offers or sells
tickets for resale after the original sale to an entertainment event
located in this state and includes an operator to the extent that the
operator offers or sells tickets for resale. Sales by a ticket
reseller include sales by any means, including in person or by
telephone, mail, delivery service, facsimile, internet, email, or
other electronic means.
(b)
"Ticket reseller" does not include a person that purchases
a ticket solely for the person's own use or the use of the person's
invitees, employees, or agents.
(8)
"URL" means a uniform resource locator for a web site on
the internet.
(B)
A ticket reseller or online ticket marketplace shall, at the first
time a ticket price is displayed, include mandatory fees other than
taxes and costs associated with shipping a physical ticket to a
buyer. An itemized breakdown of all components of the total price,
including taxes and shipping costs, shall be clearly disclosed prior
to final purchase.
(C)(1)
An operator, ticket reseller, or online ticket marketplace shall
disclose subtotals, fees, charges, or other components of the total
cost of a ticket in a way that is not false or misleading, and such
that the information is not presented more prominently than, or in
the same or larger font as, the total cost of the ticket.
(2)
An operator, ticket reseller, or online ticket marketplace may
disclose subtotals, fees, charges, and other components of the total
cost of the ticket in a manner that allows the purchaser to hide or
minimize the itemized list.
(3)
An operator, ticket reseller, or online ticket marketplace shall not
increase the price of a ticket with respect to a particular person
after the ticket price is first displayed to that person. This
division does not prohibit an operator, ticket reseller, or online
ticket marketplace from doing any of the following:
(a)
Charging a reasonable fee for the delivery of tickets in a
nonelectronic form, upon election of that delivery method by the
purchaser;
(b)
Adding to the total cost additional charges for any optional
purchases made by the purchaser, so long as the cost of those
additional purchases are disclosed to the purchaser prior to the
operator, ticket reseller, or online ticket marketplace accepting
payment;
(c)
Including a tax imposed on the transaction by a federal, state,
tribal, or local government agency, unit, or department;
(d)
Not disclosing the components or fees included in a season ticket
which combined make up the operator's base ticket price.
(D)(1)
A ticket reseller or online ticket marketplace shall disclose in an
easily readable and conspicuous manner on the ticket reseller's or
online ticket marketplace's web site or electronic service, including
in the entity's terms of service, all of the following:
(a)
That the web site or electronic service is owned or operated by a
ticket reseller or online ticket marketplace and that the price of a
resale ticket may be higher or lower than the original purchase
price;
(b)
That the purchaser is responsible for checking with the place of
entertainment for information on changes to the event or
cancellations prior to the event's start time;
(c)
The refund policy of the ticket reseller or online ticket
marketplace.
(2)
A ticket reseller or online ticket marketplace shall require a
purchaser to confirm having read the disclosures required by division
(D)(1) of this section before completing a transaction.
(E)
Within twenty-four hours after selling a resale ticket, a ticket
reseller or online ticket marketplace shall provide proof of purchase
to the purchaser, which shall include all of the following:
(1)
All event and ticket information;
(2)
That the purchaser is responsible for checking with the place of
entertainment for information on changes to the event or
cancellations prior to the event's start time;
(3)
The refund policy of the ticket reseller or online ticket
marketplace.
(F)
An online ticket marketplace or ticket reseller shall not use any
words, image, trademark, copyright, web design, or internet address
that is identical or substantially similar to words, images,
trademark, copyright, web designs, or internet addresses associated
with a place of entertainment without the written permission of the
place of entertainment or license holder duly authorized to provide
the permission. This division does not prohibit an online ticket
marketplace from doing either or both of the following:
(1)
Using words containing the name of a place of entertainment or of an
event, including the name of an artist or team, in order to describe
the location of the event or the event itself;
(2)
Providing information or images identifying the specific seat or area
the purchaser will occupy in the place of entertainment.
Sec.
1345.54.
(A)
No person shall do any of the following:
(1)
Sell or offer to sell more than one copy of the same ticket to a
place of entertainment;
(2)
Directly or indirectly employ or compensate another person to
purchase tickets for the purpose of reselling the tickets if the
practice is prohibited by law or if the place of entertainment posts
a policy prohibiting the practice;
(3)
Sell or offer to sell a ticket without first informing the person of
the location of the place of entertainment and the ticket's assigned
seat, including the seat number, row, and section number of the seat,
or if the place of entertainment does not utilize section, row, or
seat identifiers because it is a general admission event, then the
most precise seat location identifier used by the place of
entertainment;
(4)
Sell or offer to sell a ticket for which there is no assigned seat
without first informing the person of the general admission area to
which the ticket corresponds;
(5)
Advertise, offer for sale, or contract for the sale of a ticket
before the ticket has been made available to the public, including
via presale, without first obtaining permission from the place of
entertainment and having actual or constructive possession of the
ticket, unless the ticket reseller owns the ticket pursuant to a
season ticket package purchased by the ticket reseller.
(B)
No operator, ticket reseller, or online ticket marketplace shall use
or caused to be used for reselling tickets an internet domain name or
subdomain with a web site URL that contains the name of a place of
entertainment, the name of an event, the name of a person scheduled
to perform or appear at an event, or a name substantially similar to
any of the foregoing, unless the operator, ticket reseller, or online
ticket marketplace is acting on behalf of the place, event, or
person.
(C)
No person shall knowingly do any of the following:
(1)
Circumvent through any automated means any security or identity
validation measures or access control system used to protect the
process for purchasing a ticket on the internet or for admission to a
place of entertainment;
(2)
Disguise the identity of a purchaser for the purpose of purchasing a
number of tickets for admission to a place of entertainment that
exceeds the maximum number of tickets allowed for purchase by a
person;
(3)
Sell a ticket acquired in violation of division (C)(1) or (2) of this
section regardless of whether the person participated in or had the
ability to control the prohibited conduct.
(D)
An operator, online ticket marketplace, or ticket reseller shall not
sell a ticket unless one or both of the following apply:
(1)
The ticket is in the possession or constructive possession of the
operator, online ticket marketplace, or ticket reseller;
(2)
The operator, online ticket marketplace, or ticket reseller has a
written contract with the place of entertainment to obtain the
ticket.
(E)
A violation of this section or section 1345.53 of the Revised Code is
an unfair or deceptive act or practice in violation of section
1345.02 of the Revised Code. All powers and remedies available to the
attorney general to enforce sections 1345.01 to 1345.13 of the
Revised Code are available to the attorney general to enforce this
section and section 1345.53 of the Revised Code.
(F)
Nothing in this section shall be construed to create a private cause
of action for individual consumers due to an entity's violation of
this section.