Rules and regulations surrounding live events and ticketing are in a state of near-constant flux, and COVID isn’t going to make things any simpler. Ticket Summit is anticipating its Tickets Regulation and Legislation panel to be one of the best-attended of the show, which is less than a week away at Aria Resort and Casino.

Headlining the panel is the appearance of James Skoufis, a democrat and state senator from New York. He will be joined on the panel by Brian Hess, Executive Director of the Sports Fans Coalition, Aric Bittker of Event VIP, and TicketNetwork Director of Government Affairs Bruce Morris, himself a former legislator in Connecticut.

“I expect the legislative panel to be an enormously enlightening discussion about the present regulatory climate for ticketing and ticket resale, as well as the ongoing debate for what we’ll see in the near future,” says Morris, who was instrumental to the passage of important consumer protections relating to ticket purchases as a member of Connecticut’s legislature prior to his stint at TicketNetwork.

“Since ticketing is such a patchwork of different laws across all 50 states and internationally, it’s vitally important for ticketing professionals to stay abreast of where things are, and where they are going.”

New York Sen. James Skoufis
NY State Sen. James Skoufis

Skoufis, a democrat representing the state’s 39th senatorial district, will be a first-time visitor to Ticket Summit. He vaulted into the ticketing limelight with a recent investigation regarding the ticketing regulations in the Empire State, followed by his introduction of a bill designed to combat a number of anti-consumer practices he found through his inquiry. That bill was tabled in favor of a straight extension of the existing ticketing law for one year earlier this summer, but Skoufis’ bill is expected to see more thoughtful consideration in the coming year.

Hess was involved in a 2021 push for better consumer legislation regarding ticketing and ticket resale in New Jersey. The Sports Fans Coalition is an advocacy group founded in 2009 with an aim of protecting sports fan interests in matters of public policy. As its executive director, Hess has championed pro-fan ticketing policies, consumer protections for sports bettors, and equal pay policies for female athletes.

Aric Bittker is a longtime operator in the secondary ticketing market who has served as a leader in policymaking, including stints on StubHub’s Seller Advisory Board and as a director at Ticket Evolution.

Tickets Regulation and Legislation is scheduled for 9AM on Monday, August 16 at Ticket Summit, with topics for discussion expected to include drip pricing, speculative ticketing, exclusive venue ticketing contracts, holdbacks, floor pricing, and legal protections for ticket transferability, among other topics. Longtime industry consultant (and occasional TicketNews contributing writer) Eric Fuller will serve as panel moderator.

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Ticket Summit will be back in 2021, returning to Las Vegas for an August show at the Aria Resort & Casino. The annual trade show, which brings together leaders and businesses operating in ticketing and live entertainment, will run from August 15-17 at the hotel located on the Las Vegas strip.

Ticket News will be running stories in coming weeks highlighting speakers and events surrounding the trade show, which is running concurrently with the Association of Luxury Suite Directors (ALSD) conference, with expectations that the combined shows will be the largest ticketing-focused trade show in history.

Reserve an all-access pass to Ticket Summit and learn more about the event by visiting TicketSummit.com. For more information follow Ticket Summit’s official pages on LinkedInFacebookInstagram and Twitter.