New Jersey adopts new online ticket reselling law

Hot on the heels of North Carolina adopting new ticket resale laws, New Jersey has also joined the ranks of states allowing for ticket resale over the Internet.

But, ticket brokers in the Garden State will still be hamstrung by a provision that limits resale to no more than 50 percent above the acquisition price; individuals reselling tickets will not have the same limitation.

Gov. Jon Corzine this week signed the law, which had been debated for months. The bill also calls for anyone reselling more than 30 tickets in a year to register with the state as a broker. The law takes effect immediately.

Earlier in the year, the law's sponsor, State Assemblyman John Burzichelli, told TicketNews that the measure will not drastically change the way the ticket industry has already been conducted in the state for years. “The bill simply makes legal the internet selling that always occurs. The practice is already going on, so the bill won’t change anything drastically.”

Brokers in the state unsuccessfully fought against the 50 percent provision, claiming it unfairly hampers them. The old law carried a 20 percent cap above face value on ticket resale for brokers and individuals.

With North Carolina and New Jersey opening up ticket resale in those states, that leaves Massachusetts, Michigan, Kentucky, Arkansas and Rhode Island as the only states that still have anti-scalping laws on the books.

This story was modified at 9:49am on Friday, August 8, 2008, to reflect that the 50 percent cap for brokers is above the acquisition cost of the ticket they are reselling.