HARRISBURG — Following a summer of extreme sticker shock among concertgoers seeking to see megastars like Beyoncé and Taylor Swift, Pennsylvania policymakers are considering legislation that would restrict deceptive ticket sales practices. But consumer advocates and the tech lobby argue that as written, the bills may reinforce Ticketmaster’s monopoly on the live events industry and hurt concertgoers' ability to buy and sell tickets to their favorite shows on the secondary market.

One state House lawmaker wants to ban the use of bots to purchase tickets or other products, while another representative has introduced legislation that would restrict speculative ticketing, which is when a reseller markets tickets that they do not own at the time of sale but hope to acquire before the event.

Both bills are supported by Ticketmaster, which merged in 2010 with events promoter Live Nation amid federal scrutiny and gained a 70% market share in the ticket-selling industry. That share extends to the secondary market. According to a 2022 regulatory filing, the company handled $4.5 billion in ticket resales that year, more than double its total from 2019.

The legislation awaits consideration in the state House Consumer Protection, Technology & Utilities Committee. State Rep. Rob Matzie (D., Beaver), the committee’s chair, told Spotlight PA he plans to hold votes on the bills in the coming weeks as the chamber returns to session.