New Minnesota law bans ‘speculative’ ticketing, limits scalping

A new law in Minnesota will help protect fans from online ticket scalpers and companies like StubHub. The bill includes a ban on speculative ticketing, the widely used practice of offering a “ticket” for sale before it is publicly available.

by Chris Castle of MusicTechPolicy

There will be no pork bellies for StubHub in Prince Country. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz will visit the iconic First Avenue venue in Prince Country to sign HF 1898, the state’s expansive new protection for fans, venues, and artists against speculative ticketing abuse by the StubHubs of this world. MTP readers will remember I have a big issue with speculative ticking (which I think is illegal securities trading like trading pork belly futures), so I’m naturally quite pleased to see the Governor champion this legislation along with Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan plus State Senator Matt Klein and Representative Kelly Moller who co-authored the legislation.

The key provisions of the new Minnesota law include prohibitions for:

• directly or indirectly employing another person to wait in line to purchase tickets for the purpose of reselling the tickets if the practice is prohibited or if the venue has posted a policy prohibiting the practice
• sell or offer to sell a ticket without first informing the person of the location of the venue and the ticket’s assigned seat, including but not limited to the seat number, row, and section number of the seat
• advertise, offer for sale, or contract for the sale of a ticket before the ticket has been made available to the public, including via presale, without first obtaining permission from  the venue and having actual or constructive possession of the ticket, unless  the ticket reseller owns the ticket pursuant to a season ticket package purchased by the ticket  reseller. 
• an operator, online ticket marketplace, or ticket reseller must not sell a ticket unless:
  • the ticket is in the possession or constructive possession of the operator, online ticket marketplace, or ticket reseller; or
  • the operator, online ticket marketplace, or ticket reseller has a written contract with the place of entertainment to obtain the ticket.

Good stuff, another step forward for the good guys.