Ticket sales

AN ACT Relating to ticket sales; amending RCW 19.345.010, 1
19.345.020, 43.24.150, and 18.235.020; adding new sections to chapter 2
19.345 RCW; and providing an effective date. 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
Sec. 1. RCW 19.345.010 and 2015 c 129 s 2 are each amended to 5
read as follows: 6
The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter 7
unless the context clearly requires otherwise. 8
(1) "Admission ticket" means evidence of a right of entry to a 9
venue or an entertainment event. 10
(2) "Affinity group" means an identifiable group of people who 11
are members of the same organization, or who are customers of the 12
same person, and who enjoy special privileges. 13
(3) "All-in price" means the total cost of an admission ticket, 14
including the base price, all fees, which may include, but are not 15
limited to, a service fee, processing fee, electronic delivery fee, 16
facility fee, and resale fee that must be paid to purchase the 17
admission ticket.18
(4) "Base price" means the dollar value of an admission ticket, 19
which value must reflect the dollar amount that the customer is 20
required to pay, and which excludes any charges, fees, and taxes.21
H-0798.1
HOUSE BILL 1613
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Reeves, Springer, and Macri
Read first time 01/27/25. Referred to Committee on Consumer
Protection & Business.
p. 1 HB 1613
(5) "Department" means the department of licensing.1
(6) "Director" means the director of the department of licensing.2
(7) "Event" means a concert, theatrical performance, sporting 3
event, exhibition, show, or other similar activity held in this 4
state. 5
(((4))) (8) "Initial sale" means the first sale of an admission 6
ticket by the ticket seller. "Initial sale" also includes the 7
distribution of admission tickets under an agreement between the 8
ticket seller and the recipient. 9
(((5))) (9) "Internet domain name" means a globally unique, 10
hierarchical reference to an internet host or server, which is 11
assigned through a centralized internet naming authority, and which 12
is composed of a series of character strings separated by periods 13
with the rightmost string specifying the top of the hierarchy.14
(10) "Person" means any individual, partnership, corporation, 15
limited liability company, other organization, or any combination 16
thereof. 17
(((6))) (11) "Place of entertainment" means any privately or 18
publicly owned or operated entertainment facility within this state, 19
such as a theater, stadium, museum, arena, park, racetrack, or other 20
place where concerts, theatrical performances, sporting events, 21
exhibitions, shows, or other similar activities are held and for 22
which an entry fee is charged. 23
(((7))) (12) "Presale" means a sale of admission tickets at or 24
below the ((price printed on the ticket by )) base price, or with the 25
permission of, a ticket seller, prior to their release to the general 26
public, and which may include an initial sale. 27
(((8))) (13) "Promoter" means a person who organizes financing 28
and publicity for an entertainment event. 29
(((9))) (14) "Resale" means a subsequent sale of an admission 30
ticket other than the initial sale or presale of an admission ticket.31
(15) "Ticket resale marketplace" means a person or entity that 32
operates a platform or exchange to facilitate the resale or offering 33
for resale of admission tickets between third parties, which includes 34
platforms or exchanges operating by means of an internet website, 35
application, phone system, or other similar technology, and who does 36
not generally maintain their own ticket inventory, and which may 37
include a ticket seller.38
(16) "Ticket reseller" means a person or entity that resells or 39
offers for resale admission tickets.40
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(17) "Ticket seller" means a person that makes admission tickets 1
available, directly or indirectly, at an initial ((presale or)) sale 2
or presale to the general public, and may include an owner or 3
operator of a place of entertainment, a sponsor or promoter of an 4
event, a sports team participating in an event, a fan club or 5
affinity group, a theater company, a musical group, or similar 6
participant in an event, or an employee or agent of any such person.7
EXCLUSIONS8
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. (1) Sections 8 and 9 of this act do not 9
apply to:10
(a) Agricultural fairs as provided in RCW 15.76.120;11
(b) Public and private K-12 schools; 12
(c) Institutions of higher education as defined in RCW 13
28B.92.030; 14
(d) Nonprofit cultural institutions, including accredited zoos 15
and aquariums; 16
(e) Movie theaters; 17
(f) Collegiate athletic teams; and 18
(g) Federally recognized tribes. 19
(2) Sections 4, 5, and 7 through 13 of this act and RCW 20
19.345.010 and 43.24.150 do not apply to: 21
(a) Individual persons who are the original purchaser for 22
personal use of one or more admission tickets to an event covered 23
under this chapter, including persons who are the original purchaser 24
for personal use of season tickets to theatrical performances or 25
sporting events; and 26
(b) Individual employees of a ticket seller, ticket reseller, or 27
ticket resale marketplace if the employee is conducting business in 28
the name of and under the registration of the registered and licensed 29
ticket seller, ticket reseller, or ticket resale marketplace, and all 30
money received by the employee is collected in the name of the 31
registered and licensed ticket seller, ticket reseller, or ticket 32
resale marketplace as required by this chapter. 33
Sec. 3. RCW 19.345.020 and 2015 c 129 s 3 are each amended to 34
read as follows: 35
(1) A person may not: 36
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(a) Use software to circumvent, thwart, interfere with, or evade 1
a security measure, access control system, or other control or 2
measure on a ticket seller's internet website , application, phone 3
system, or similar technology that is used to enforce posted event 4
admission ticket purchasing limits or to maintain the integrity of 5
posted online admission ticket purchasing order rules; or6
(b) Sell software that is advertised for profit with the express 7
purpose to circumvent, thwart, interfere with, or evade a security 8
measure, access control system, or other control or measure on a 9
ticket seller's internet website , application, phone system, or 10
similar technology that is used to enforce posted event admission 11
ticket purchasing limits or to maintain the integrity of posted 12
online admission ticket purchasing order rules. 13
(2) The use or sale of software as described in subsection (1) of 14
this section only violates this section if the user or seller knows 15
or should know that the purpose of the software is to circumvent, 16
thwart, interfere with, or evade a security measure, access control 17
system, or other control or measure on a ticket seller's internet 18
website, application, phone system, or similar technology that is 19
used to enforce posted event admission ticket purchasing limits or to 20
maintain the integrity of posted online admission ticket purchasing 21
order rules. 22
(3) A person may not knowingly resell or offer to resell an 23
admission ticket that was obtained using software to circumvent, 24
thwart, interfere with, or evade a security measure, access control 25
system, or other control or measure on a ticket seller's internet 26
website, application, phone system, or similar technology that is 27
used to enforce posted event admission ticket purchasing limits or to 28
maintain the integrity of posted online admission ticket purchasing 29
order rules, and was not obtained for the person's own use or the use 30
of their invitees, employees, or agents.31
(4) The legislature finds that the conduct described in 32
subsections (1) and (3) of this section and section 12 of this act 33
vitally affects the public interest for the purpose of applying the 34
consumer protection act, chapter 19.86 RCW. Using or selling software 35
to circumvent, thwart, or evade a control or measure, which is used 36
on a ticket seller's internet website , application, phone system, or 37
similar technology to ensure an equitable distribution of tickets, is 38
not reasonable in relation to the development and preservation of 39
business and is an unfair or deceptive act in trade or commerce and 40
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an unfair method of competition for the purposes of applying the 1
consumer protection act, chapter 19.86 RCW. 2
(5) Ticket sellers have an affirmative obligation to notify the 3
attorney general of the use of software as described in this section.4
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. Businesses domiciled outside the state of 5
Washington are subject to Washington law when selling admission 6
tickets to events in this state, regardless of where the buyer and 7
seller are domiciled.8
TICKET SALES LICENSE9
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. (1) In order to engage in the business of 10
a ticket seller, ticket reseller, or ticket resale marketplace, a 11
person must:12
(a) Apply to the department for a ticket sales license on a form 13
designated by the department, pay an annual license fee, and renew 14
the license annually; 15
(b) Be registered with the department of revenue pursuant to RCW 16
82.32.030 and, if an ownership entity other than sole proprietor or 17
general partnership, be registered with the secretary of state for a 18
business license to do business in this state; and19
(c) Comply with the requirements of this chapter and department 20
rules adopted under this chapter. 21
(2) A ticket sales license may only be granted upon an 22
application setting forth such information as the department may 23
require. The license must include an endorsement from the department 24
indicating whether the licensee is engaging in the business of a 25
ticket seller, ticket reseller, or ticket resale marketplace. The 26
department must require applicants to disclose in their applications 27
whether the applicant owns, is owned by, or shares common ownership 28
with any other ticket seller or ticket reseller. 29
Sec. 6. RCW 43.24.150 and 2017 c 281 s 40 are each amended to 30
read as follows: 31
(1) The business and professions account is created in the state 32
treasury. All receipts from business or professional licenses, 33
registrations, certifications, renewals, examinations, or civil 34
penalties assessed and collected by the department from the following 35
chapters must be deposited into the account: 36
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(a) Chapter 18.11 RCW, auctioneers; 1
(b) Chapter 18.16 RCW, cosmetologists, barbers, and manicurists;2
(c) Chapter 18.145 RCW, court reporters; 3
(d) Chapter 18.165 RCW, private investigators; 4
(e) Chapter 18.170 RCW, security guards; 5
(f) Chapter 18.185 RCW, bail bond agents; 6
(g) Chapter 18.280 RCW, home inspectors; 7
(h) Chapter 19.16 RCW, collection agencies; 8
(i) Chapter 19.31 RCW, employment agencies; 9
(j) Chapter 19.105 RCW, camping resorts; 10
(k) Chapter 19.138 RCW, sellers of travel; 11
(l) Chapter 42.45 RCW, notaries public; 12
(m) Chapter 64.36 RCW, timeshares; 13
(n) Chapter 67.08 RCW, boxing, martial arts, and wrestling;14
(o) Chapter 18.300 RCW, body art, body piercing, and tattooing;15
(p) Chapter 79A.60 RCW, whitewater river outfitters;16
(q) Chapter 19.158 RCW, commercial telephone solicitation; 17
((and))18
(r) Chapter 19.290 RCW, scrap metal businesses; and19
(s) Chapter 19.345 RCW, ticket sales. 20
Moneys in the account may be spent only after appropriation. 21
Expenditures from the account may be used only for expenses incurred 22
in carrying out these business and professions licensing activities 23
of the department. Any residue in the account must be accumulated and 24
may not revert to the general fund at the end of the biennium. 25
However, during the 2013-2015 fiscal biennium the legislature may 26
transfer to the state general fund such amounts as reflect the excess 27
fund balance in the account. 28
(2) The director must biennially prepare a budget request based 29
on the anticipated costs of administering the business and 30
professions licensing activities listed in subsection (1) of this 31
section, which must include the estimated income from these business 32
and professions fees. 33
DIRECTOR DUTIES34
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. In addition to any other duties imposed by 35
law, the director has the following powers and duties:36
(1) To set license and renewal fees in accordance with RCW 37
43.24.086; 38
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(2) To adopt rules necessary to implement this chapter;1
(3) To prepare and administer or approve the preparation and 2
administration of licensing under this chapter; 3
(4) To maintain the official department record of applicants and 4
licensees; 5
(5) To set license expiration dates and renewal periods for all 6
licenses consistent with this chapter; 7
(6) To ensure that all informational notices produced by the 8
department regarding statutory and regulatory changes affecting 9
licensees are provided to each licensee in good standing; and10
(7) To make information available to the department of revenue to 11
assist in collecting taxes from persons and businesses required to be 12
licensed under this chapter. 13
PRICE DISCLOSURES14
NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. (1) Ticket sellers, ticket resellers, and 15
ticket resale marketplaces may not sell, offer for sale, resell, or 16
offer for resale an admission ticket, including by means of an 17
internet website, application, phone system, or other technology used 18
to sell tickets, without disclosing to a consumer the total amount 19
that the consumer will be charged before the consumer purchases the 20
admission ticket, including any fees which represent a portion of the 21
total amount to be charged.22
(2)(a) The following disclosures must be made by ticket sellers, 23
ticket resellers, and ticket resale marketplaces to a user prior to 24
the user selecting a ticket: 25
(i) The base price of the admission ticket; and26
(ii) The all-in price. 27
(b) Disclosures of subtotals, fees, and any other component of an 28
admission ticket purchase price must not be false or misleading, must 29
not be presented more prominently or in the same or larger size as 30
the all-in price, and must be fully disclosed before a user is 31
required to enter login credentials if the user is using a platform 32
or exchange that requires login credentials to complete a purchase.33
(c) The price of an admission ticket may not increase between 34
selection and purchase, excluding reasonable fees for the delivery of 35
nonelectronic tickets based on the delivery method selected by the 36
purchaser, which must be disclosed prior to acceptance of payment.37
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CONSUMER DISCLOSURES1
NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. (1) Prior to a user's completion of a 2
purchase of an admission ticket, including by means of an internet 3
website, application, phone system, or other technology used to sell 4
tickets, the following must be disclosed to a user by a ticket 5
seller, ticket reseller, and ticket resale marketplace:6
(a) The terms of a purchaser's right to cancel the purchase of an 7
admission ticket from the ticket seller, ticket reseller, or ticket 8
resale marketplace; 9
(b) The refund policy of the ticket seller, ticket reseller, or 10
ticket resale marketplace should an event be canceled;11
(c) Whether the ticket seller, ticket reseller, or ticket resale 12
marketplace is owned by, owns, or shares common ownership with 13
another ticket seller or ticket reseller; 14
(d) Whether an admission ticket is transferable, as provided for 15
in section 10 of this act; 16
(e) A hyperlink to a copy of the license held by the ticket 17
seller, ticket reseller, or ticket resale marketplace;18
(f) Contact information to submit a consumer complaint including, 19
but not limited to, information for the Washington state consumer 20
protection division complaint website; and 21
(g) A statement that Washington state has consumer protections 22
for consumers of admission tickets for events, and where those laws 23
may be found. 24
(2) If a ticket reseller is owned by, owns, or shares common 25
ownership with a ticket seller, prior to a user's completion of a 26
purchase of an admission ticket the ticket reseller must disclose the 27
following: 28
(a) Whether admission tickets for an event are still available 29
for purchase from the ticket seller with whom the ticket reseller 30
shares common ownership, owns, or is owned by; and31
(b) The base price of the admission ticket available for purchase 32
from that ticket seller. 33
TICKET TRANSFERABILITY34
NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. (1) A ticket seller may employ a 35
nontransferable admission ticketing system only if the consumer is 36
offered an option at the time of initial sale or presale to purchase 37
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the same admission ticket in a transferable form that allows 1
admission tickets to be given away or resold independent of and 2
without requiring the consumer to access or log into the ticket 3
seller's website or platform, without penalty or discrimination.4
(2) A person may not be penalized, discriminated against, or 5
denied access to an event solely on the grounds that the admission 6
ticket was resold or that the admission ticket was resold on a ticket 7
resale marketplace or other admission ticket platform not affiliated 8
with the ticket seller. 9
(3) Nothing in this section prohibits a ticket seller from 10
maintaining and enforcing policies with respect to conduct, behavior, 11
or age at an entertainment venue, or establish limits on the quantity 12
of admission tickets that may be purchased for an event.13
DECEPTIVE URLS14
NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. (1) The website of a ticket seller, 15
ticket reseller, or ticket resale marketplace selling admission 16
tickets to an event scheduled at a place of entertainment in this 17
state shall not use an internet domain name or subdomain thereof in 18
the website's uniform resource locator that contains any of the 19
following:20
(a) The name of a place of entertainment; 21
(b) The name of an event, including the name of a person or 22
entity scheduled to perform or appear at the event; or23
(c) A name substantially similar to those described in (a) and 24
(b) of this subsection. 25
(2) The restriction in subsection (1) of this section does not 26
apply if the ticket seller, ticket reseller, or ticket resale 27
marketplace selling admission tickets to an event scheduled in this 28
state is acting on behalf of the place of entertainment, event, 29
person, or entity scheduled to perform or appear at the event.30
SPECULATIVE TICKETS31
NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. (1) In addition to any other restrictions 32
imposed by the rights holder of an admission ticket, a ticket 33
reseller or any affiliate of a ticket reseller may not resell an 34
admission ticket or advertise an admission ticket for resale unless:35
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(a)(i) The admission ticket is in the possession or constructive 1
possession of the ticket reseller; or 2
(ii) The ticket reseller has a written contract with the rights 3
holder of the admission ticket to obtain the admission ticket; and4
(b) The ticket reseller discloses to an admission ticket 5
purchaser at the outset of the transaction the information required 6
under subsection (2) of this section, as applicable.7
(2) The disclosure under subsection (1) of this section must 8
include an approximate delivery date and the number of admission 9
tickets that are guaranteed to be grouped together, including any 10
designation by the venue of an assigned seating zone, section number, 11
or seat number. If the ticket reseller cannot guarantee specific 12
seats, then the ticket reseller must also disclose this fact to an 13
admission ticket purchaser at the outset of the transaction.14
(3) If a ticket reseller is unsuccessful in securing the 15
tentative tickets contemplated in this section, then the ticket 16
reseller must refund any deposit made by the purchaser of those 17
admission tickets no later than 10 days after the date of the 18
ticketed event. 19
UNIFORM REGULATION OF BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS ACT20
NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. The uniform regulation of business and 21
professions act, chapter 18.235 RCW, governs unlicensed practice, the 22
issuance and denial of licenses, and the discipline of licensees 23
under this chapter.24
Sec. 14. RCW 18.235.020 and 2024 c 50 s 2 are each amended to 25
read as follows: 26
(1) This chapter applies only to the director and the boards and 27
commissions having jurisdiction in relation to the businesses and 28
professions licensed under the chapters specified in this section. 29
This chapter does not apply to any business or profession not 30
licensed under the chapters specified in this section.31
(2)(a) The director has authority under this chapter in relation 32
to the following businesses and professions: 33
(i) Auctioneers under chapter 18.11 RCW; 34
(ii) Bail bond agents and bail bond recovery agents under chapter 35
18.185 RCW; 36
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(iii) Camping resorts' operators and salespersons under chapter 1
19.105 RCW; 2
(iv) Commercial telephone solicitors under chapter 19.158 RCW;3
(v) Cosmetologists, barbers, manicurists, and estheticians under 4
chapter 18.16 RCW; 5
(vi) Court reporters under chapter 18.145 RCW; 6
(vii) Driver training schools and instructors under chapter 46.82 7
RCW; 8
(viii) Employment agencies under chapter 19.31 RCW;9
(ix) For hire vehicle operators under chapter 46.72 RCW;10
(x) Limousines under chapter 46.72A RCW; 11
(xi) Notaries public under chapter 42.45 RCW; 12
(xii) Private investigators under chapter 18.165 RCW;13
(xiii) Professional boxing, martial arts, and wrestling under 14
chapter 67.08 RCW; 15
(xiv) Real estate appraisers under chapter 18.140 RCW;16
(xv) Real estate brokers and salespersons under chapters 18.85 17
and 18.86 RCW; 18
(xvi) Scrap metal processors, scrap metal recyclers, and scrap 19
metal suppliers under chapter 19.290 RCW; 20
(xvii) Security guards under chapter 18.170 RCW;21
(xviii) Sellers of travel under chapter 19.138 RCW;22
(xix) Timeshares and timeshare salespersons under chapter 64.36 23
RCW; 24
(xx) Whitewater river outfitters under chapter 79A.60 RCW;25
(xxi) Home inspectors under chapter 18.280 RCW;26
(xxii) Body artists, body piercers, and tattoo artists, and body 27
art, body piercing, and tattooing shops and businesses, under chapter 28
18.300 RCW; ((and))29
(xxiii) Appraisal management companies under chapter 18.310 RCW; 30
and31
(xxiv) Ticket sales under chapter 19.345 RCW. 32
(b) The boards and commissions having authority under this 33
chapter are as follows: 34
(i) The state board for architects established in chapter 18.08 35
RCW; 36
(ii) The Washington state collection agency board established in 37
chapter 19.16 RCW; 38
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(iii) The state board of registration for professional engineers 1
and land surveyors established in chapter 18.43 RCW governing 2
licenses issued under chapters 18.43 and 18.210 RCW;3
(iv) The funeral and cemetery board established in chapter 18.39 4
RCW governing licenses issued under chapters 18.39 and 68.05 RCW;5
(v) The state board of licensure for landscape architects 6
established in chapter 18.96 RCW; and 7
(vi) The state geologist licensing board established in chapter 8
18.220 RCW. 9
(3) In addition to the authority to discipline license holders, 10
the disciplinary authority may grant or deny licenses based on the 11
conditions and criteria established in this chapter, chapter 18.415 12
RCW, and the chapters specified in subsection (2) of this section. 13
This chapter also governs any investigation, hearing, or proceeding 14
relating to denial of licensure or issuance of a license conditioned 15
on the applicant's compliance with an order entered under RCW 16
18.235.110 by the disciplinary authority. 17
NEW SECTION. Sec. 15. If any provision of this act or its 18
application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the 19
remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other 20
persons or circumstances is not affected.21
NEW SECTION. Sec. 16. Sections 2, 4, 5, and 7 through 13 of 22
this act are each added to chapter 19.345 RCW.23
NEW SECTION. Sec. 17. This act takes effect January 1, 2027.24
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