Arizona moves to outlaw bots that grab event tickets for scalping

PHOENIX — The next time Taylor Swift comes to Arizona you may actually have a chance of buying a ticket without going to a scalper.

Without debate the state Senate gave final approval Monday to legislation designed to make it illegal to use computer “bots’’ to scoop up tickets for concerts and sporting events and then resell them to Arizonans at sharply inflated prices.

The House already approved its own version. What remains is for the two proposals to be reconciled before being sent to Gov. Katie Hobbs.

Separately, the Senate also voted for a measure to create new laws enacting restrictions and prohibitions when someone wants to resell a ticket. It, too, needs final House approval.

Rep. David Cook, R-Globe, said the motivation for both measures is what he heard and saw happening last year when Swift’s fans found out they couldn’t buy tickets from the official website.

The tickets already had been scooped up by automated software designed to fool the sales site in a way to get around the limit on how much any one individual could buy. The programs did it so fast that Ticketmaster ended up shutting down sales — leaving fans with the only option of buying from secondary sellers who were setting their own prices.

“The fans got fleeced for a lot of money,’’ Cook said. “The Legislature needs to stand up and protect Arizonans.’’

HB 2040 would prohibit anyone from creating or using a bot to purchase tickets in excess of the listed limit for an online sale. It also would preclude the use of multiple internet protocol addresses, purchaser accounts or email addresses in a way to get around the limits set on how many tickets any individual could buy.

The legislation would make it illegal to circumvent or disable any sort of electronic queue, waiting period, presale code or any other sales volume limitation.

It would allow the attorney general to investigate violations and go to court to seek penalties of up to $10,000. Each ticket sold in violation of the law would be a separate violation.

During hearings earlier this year, Randall Vogel, who said he specializes in performances and concerts, said these bots have a great impact on ticket prices, and not just for events like Swift’s Eras Tour.

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“Thousands of tickets are purchased annually from medium or small venues across the state by bots,’’ Vogel said. “And they are then resold at exorbitant prices at the expense of true fans, limiting access to affordable admission to a performance.’’

Vogel said he has seen $50 tickets snapped up and then resold for $300.

“Without legislation, this issue will only get worse,’’ he said.

Howard Waltzman, who represents Live Nation and its Ticketmaster affiliate, told lawmakers there is a federal law that bans the use of bots. State attorneys general can enforce that law, he said.

Only thing is, Waltzman said, those lawsuits have to be filed in federal court, a process he said is much slower than what HB 2040 would allow through having the complaints handled in state court.

The legislation drew fire from Stubhub, which maintains a website where it offers tickets for resale.

During a hearing earlier this year, Sean Auyash, who represents the company, conceded that some of the tickets on Stubhub may have originated from people using bots.

But he said if there is a problem, that should be addressed by the primary sellers, meaning the venues and services that they use such as Ticketmaster. Auyash said they should be the ones responsible for setting up procedures and practices to keep individuals and computer programs from snatching up more than their fair share of tickets.

That drew a sharp reaction from Rep. Analise Ortiz, D-Phoenix, who said it appears Stubhub was simply trying to protect its profits.

“Should we make this illegal, those people using bots to get around the system, who then go to your service and use your service to price gouge, those people will no longer be coming to you, which means your bottom line would take a hit,’’ Ortiz said.