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A BILL to amend and reenact §§
59.1-466.5
and
59.1-466.6
of the Code of Virginia, relating to ticket resale limitations; requirements; review of event ticket marketplace by the Office of the Attorney General Consumer Protection Section.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §§
59.1-466.5
and
59.1-466.6
of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:
§
59.1-466.5
. Definitions.
As used in this chapter, unless the context requires a different meaning:
"Event" means any professional concert, live entertainment event, professional sporting or athletic event, or professional theatrical production open to the public for which tickets are ordinarily sold.
"Internet ticketing platform" means a marketplace or exchange that enables consumers to purchase
and
,
sell
,
or
resell
tickets to events.
"Operator" means a person or subsidiary thereof that owns, operates, or controls a place of entertainment.
"Primary ticket provider" means a provider of ticketing services, or an agent of such provider, that engages in the original sale of tickets for an event.
"Purchaser" means an individual who purchases a ticket to an event.
"Resale" means the sale of a ticket other than the original sale of a ticket by a primary ticket provider.
"Resale" includes sale by any means, including in person, by telephone, by mail, by email, by facsimile, or through a website or other electronic means.
"Reseller" means a person that sells or offers to sell tickets for resale.
"Rights holder" means any person or entity that has the initial ownership rights to sell a ticket to an event for which tickets for entry by the public are required and does not include a primary ticket provider unless the primary ticket provider is also the rights holder.
"Speculative ticket
"
means a ticket that is not in the actual or constructive possession of a reseller at the time of sale, advertisement, or listing. "Speculative ticket" includes a ticket sold by a reseller that, at the time of resale, is not in physical possession of the reseller, is not owned by the reseller, or is not under contract to be transferred to the reseller.
"URL" means the Uniform Resource Locator associated with an online website.
§
59.1-466.6
. Ticket resale limitations; prohibition; exception.
A. No person that issues tickets for admission to an event shall issue any such ticket solely through a delivery method that substantially prevents the purchaser of the ticket from lawfully reselling the ticket on the Internet ticketing platform of the ticket purchaser's choice.
B. No person shall be discriminated against or denied admission to an event solely on the basis that the person resold a ticket, or purchased a resold ticket, on a specific Internet ticketing platform.
C.
Each
primary ticket provider,
i
nternet ticketing platform, or reseller
operating in the Commonwealth
shall
comply with the following
requirements:
1. The listing for a ticket and each step of a transaction to purchase a ticket shall (i) clearly and conspicuously disclose the total price of the ticket, including all fees and taxes other than shipping costs that are not determinable at a step in the transaction;
(ii) provide an itemized listing of all charges that comprise the total price of the ticket, including all fees and taxes; and (iii) identify the seat number and zone or section of the ticket, to the extent applicable to the seat and venue.
2. The total price of a ticket under subdivision 1 may be increased in a noninitial step of a transaction by the amount of reasonable shipping costs for physically delivered tickets.
The total shipping costs allowed under this subsection may vary with the purchaser's location
relative to the shipment's location of origin and the delivery method selected by the purchaser.
3. The total price of the ticket, including all fees, taxes, and shipping costs shall be clearly and conspicuously disclosed prior to final purchase of the ticket.
D. No reseller shall sell or offer to sell speculative tickets unless the reseller, clearly and conspicuously, discloses to a prospective purchaser at the outset of the transaction
:
1. That the tickets are speculative tickets, and the reseller is not in possession of the tickets;
2. That the reseller is making an offer to procure the tickets for the prospective purchaser;
3. An approximate date on which the tickets will be delivered to the purchaser;
4. The name or a description of the event for which the tickets will permit entry; and
5. The zone or section number of the tickets, to the extent applicable to the venue.
A reseller shall refund to a purchaser any consideration or deposit paid for tickets sold under this
sub
section if the reseller fails to obtain the tickets
(i) within 24 hours of the approximate date of delivery specified in su
b
division 3 but before commencement of the event for which the tickets were sold or
(ii) in conformity with the disclosures required under this subsection.
E.
No
i
nternet ticketing platform shall provide a marketplace for the sale or resale of a ticket that violates the requirements of this section.
F. A primary ticket provider,
i
nternet ticketing platform, or reseller that directly engages in a sales transaction with a purchaser for the purchase of a ticket shall provide the purchaser with a full refund of the total amount paid, including the price of the ticket and any fees and taxes, if
:
1. The ticket purchased is counterfeit;
2. The event for which the ticket is purchased is canceled; or
3. The ticket fails to conform to the description as advertised or represented to the purchaser by the seller.
G.
This section shall not apply to (i) student tickets issued for an event at an auxiliary enterprise facility financed with bonds issued under Article X, Section 9 (d) of the Constitution of Virginia and supported in part by student fees or (ii) any concert or theater venue located within or adjacent to a national park that offers yearly memberships that include concert or theater tickets as part of the membership benefit.
2. That the Consumer Protection Section of the Office of the Attorney General, with input from relevant stakeholders, shall conduct a review of the event ticket market in the Commonwealth by December 1, 2026. This review shall include, to the extent feasible, an assessment of (i) how event tickets are obtained for resale by professional resellers and brokers; (ii) the cost of event tickets offered to and purchased by consumers on the resale market when compared with the face values and total event ticket prices for tickets offered to and purchased by consumers in the event ticket market; (iii) factors contributing to the cost of event tickets sold and offered for sale on the resale market; (iv) problems consumers are encountering relating to the purchase of event tickets sold and offered for sale on the resale market, including the fraudulent sale of event tickets, the sale of counterfeit tickets, the denial of entry to events for which tickets have been purchased by consumers, and the use of artificial intelligence or automated technology systems to purchase resale tickets for events; (v) the impact of any measures taken in other states to protect consumers in the event ticket market, such as through resale price caps, limits on fees and charges by resale platforms, requiring the transferability of event tickets, and restrictions on the use of artificial intelligence or automated technology systems to purchase tickets for resale; and (vi) any other matter identified as relevant to the protection of consumers in the event ticket market. For the purposes of this review, the definitions in §
59.1-466.5
of the Code of Virginia, as amended by this act, shall apply. No later than December 1, 2026, the Consumer Protection Section of the Office of the Attorney General shall submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the Chairs of the House Committee on Labor and Commerce and the Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor.