The Federal Trade Commission is reportedly in the advanced stages of an investigation into whether Ticketmaster has done enough to combat automated ticket-buying bots, with potential enforcement action looming under the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act.
According to Bloomberg, the probe could result in a settlement or even billions in penalties for Ticketmaster parent Live Nation Entertainment, as the law allows fines of up to $53,000 per violation. At the center of the FTC’s inquiry is whether Ticketmaster has properly enforced its own rules — or, as some allege, turned a blind eye when it benefits from resale activity that drives higher ticket prices.
Ticketmaster has denied wrongdoing, insisting it has invested more than any competitor to stop scalping. But critics argue that the company almost universally blames “bots” whenever consumers encounter problems with its system — from site crashes to sky-high prices — while failing to provide any substantial evidence that automated software is at the root of those issues.
As TicketNews previously reported, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) has long pressed regulators and Ticketmaster alike on this point. At a 2023 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing following the Taylor Swift “Eras Tour” fiasco, Blumenthal grilled Live Nation president Joe Berchtold, pointing out that while the company frequently cites “bots” as the cause of ticketing chaos, it had made only one report to the FTC about such violations since the BOTS Act became law in 2016.
READ MORE: Sen. Blumenthal Urges FTC to Focus on BOTS Act Enforcement
“You are the ones ultimately responsible for the astronomically rising prices, the exorbitant hidden fees, the sold out shows, the bots and scalpers,” Blumenthal told Berchtold, accusing the company of dodging accountability while benefiting from market dominance.
Industry critics say bots have become a convenient scapegoat for Ticketmaster and event operators, distracting from practices like ticket holdbacks, where significant portions of inventory are deliberately kept from public sale to stimulate scarcity and inflate prices. A New York Attorney General report found that more than half of tickets to top shows between 2012 and 2015 never reached the general public, fueling frustration and confusion for fans.
The FTC’s current investigation follows heightened political pressure to enforce the BOTS Act after the 2022 Eras Tour debacle. The agency has already pursued action against Key Investment Group, a Maryland broker accused of evading ticket limits, but Ticketmaster itself may now face direct scrutiny for what regulators describe as systemic failures to stop such schemes.
Meanwhile, Live Nation is already set to face trial in March in a separate Justice Department antitrust lawsuit seeking to break up its control of ticketing and live events. That case, paired with the FTC’s probe, could further cement the company’s role at the center of consumer outrage and regulatory pushback.
