2020 -- H 7926

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LC004867

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2020

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS -- SHOWS AND EXHIBITIONS

     Introduced By: Representatives Craven, and McEntee

     Date Introduced: February 26, 2020

     Referred To: House Corporations

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Section 5-22-26 of the General Laws in Chapter 5-22 entitled "Shows and

Exhibitions" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     5-22-26. Ticket speculators Ticket sales and resale.

     (a) As used in this section, the following words and phrases shall have the following

meanings:

     (1) "Event" means a concert, theatrical performance, sporting contest, exhibition, show, or

other similar activity held in this state.

     (2) "Initial sale" means the first sale of a ticket by the ticket seller. "Initial sale" also

includes the distribution of admission tickets under an agreement between the ticket seller and the

recipient.

     (3) "Non-transferable ticketing system" means restricting, through contractual or

technological means, a ticket purchaser's ability to freely use, give away, or resell the tickets they

have purchased.

     (4) "Person" means any individual, partnership, corporation, limited liability company,

other organization, or any combination thereof.

     (5) "Resale of tickets" means the act of reselling tickets.

     (6) "Ticket" means a right, privilege, or license of admission to enter, attend, or participate

in an event.

     (7) "Ticket platform" means a marketplace that enables consumers to purchase and sell

tickets.

     (8) "Ticket seller" means any person that makes tickets available for initial sale, directly or

indirectly, to an event, including, but not limited to, the operator of a venue; the sponsor or promoter

of an event; a sports team participating in an event or a league whose teams are participating in an

event; a theater company or musical group; a ticket platform; or an agent of any such person.

     (b) No person shall sell, offer for sale, or attempt to sell any ticket, privilege, or license of

admission to an entertainment event, including, but not limited to, any place of public amusement,

arena, stadium, theatre, performance, sport, exhibition, or athletic contest in this state at a price

greater than the price, including tax, printed on the ticket, and a reasonable service charge for

services actually rendered not to exceed three dollars ($3.00) or ten percent (10%) of the price

printed on the ticket, whichever is greater. The owner or operator of the property on which an

entertainment event is to be held or is being held may authorize, in writing, any person to sell a

ticket, privilege, or license of admission at a price in excess of that authorized under this section.

That writing shall specify the price for which the ticket, privilege, or license of admission is to be

sold. Any person violating any provision of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be

fined not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each offense.

     (c) Notwithstanding any terms or conditions to the contrary:

     (1) A ticket seller may employ a non-transferable ticketing system only if the consumer is

offered an option at the time of initial sale to purchase the same ticket in a transferable form that

allows tickets to be given away or resold independent of the ticket seller's preferred ticket platform,

without penalty or discrimination.

     (2) A person shall not be penalized, discriminated against, or denied access to an event

solely because the ticket or tickets were resold or because of the ticket platform where the ticket or

tickets were resold.

     (d) Nothing in this section shall prevent a ticket seller or venue operator from:

     (1) Maintaining and enforcing policies with respect to conduct, behavior, or age at the

venue event;

     (2) Establishing and enforcing limits on the quantity of tickets that may be purchased;

     (3) Canceling tickets that were procured in violation of 15 U.S.C. § 45c (the Federal BOTS

Act); or

     (4) Employing a non-transferable system:

     (i) For tickets that are sold or given to individuals or groups as part of a private event or a

targeted promotion at a discounted price because of the individuals' or groups' status or affiliation,

including, but not limited to, groups or individuals characterized by a disability, membership in a

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religious or civic organization, students, or economic hardship, and the tickets are not offered

promotionally to the general public; or

     (ii) For tickets sold to the NCAA Division I post-season collegiate basketball and hockey

tournaments.

     (e) A ticket platform that enables the resale of tickets shall post a clear and conspicuous

notice on the website, that the website is for the secondary sale of tickets and that the price of the

ticket offered for sale may exceed the original sale price.

     SECTION 2. Chapter 6-13.1 of the General Laws entitled "Deceptive Trade Practices" is

hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:

     6-13.1-31. Deceptive speculative tickets, ticket websites, and software.

     (a) When used in this section, the following words and phrases shall have the following

meanings:

     (1) "Event" means a concert, theatrical performance, sporting event, exhibition, show, or

other similar activity held in this state.

     (2) "Internet domain name" means a globally unique, hierarchical reference to an Internet

host or service, which is assigned through centralized Internet naming authorities and which is

comprised of a series of character strings separated by periods, with the right most string specifying

the top of the hierarchy.

     (3) "Performer" means an individual, team, group, or other person that entertains an

audience.

     (4) "Person" means any individual, partnership, corporation, limited liability company,

other organization, or any combination thereof.

     (5) "Promoter" means a person who organizes financing and publicity for an entertainment

event.

     (6) "Ticket" means a right, privilege, or license of admission to enter, attend, or participate

in an event.

     (7) "Ticket seller" means any person that makes tickets available for initial sale, directly or

indirectly, for sale to an event, including, but not limited to, the operator of a venue; the sponsor or

promoter of an event; a sports team participating in an event or a league whose teams are

participating in an event: a theatre company or musical group; a ticket platform; or an agent of any

such person.

     (8) "Ticket website" means a website advertising the sale of tickets, offering the sale of

tickets, or offering tickets for resale to an event in Rhode Island.

     (9) "Undisclosed speculative ticket" means a ticket that a person does not have, has not

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purchased, and does not have a contractual right to obtain, and for which the person, or ticket

advertisement of listing, does not provide reasonable disclosure to a potential ticket purchaser or

consumer that the person does not have, has not purchased, and does not have a contractual right

to obtain the ticket.

     (10) "URL" means a website's uniform resource locator.

     (11) "Venue" means an arena, stadium, theater, concert hall, or other place of exhibition or

performance in this state.

     (12) "Website operator" means a person owning, operating, or controlling a ticket website

for an event scheduled at a venue.

     (b) A person may not:

     (1) Use software to circumvent, thwart, interfere with, or evade a security measure, access

control system, or other control or measure used to enforce event ticket purchasing limits or to

maintain the integrity of online ticket purchasing order rules;

     (2) Sell software that is advertised for profit with the express purpose to circumvent, thwart,

interfere with, or evade a security measure, access control system, or other control or measure used

to enforce event ticket purchasing limits or to maintain the integrity of online ticket purchasing

order rules; or

     (3) Except as provided in § 6-13.1-31(c), a website operator may not intentionally use an

Internet domain name, or any subdomain thereof, in a ticket website's URL that contains any of the

following:

     (i) The name of:

     (A) A venue in this state;

     (B) A performer;

     (C) An organization or association that is associated with a performer, such as a

professional sports league; or

     (D) An exhibition, performance, or other event to be held at a venue in this state;

     (ii) A trademark not owned by the website operator, including a trademark owned by an

authorized agent or partner of the venue or event; or

     (iii) Any name substantially similar to a name described in § 6-13.1-31(b)(3)(i), including

a misspelling of the name; or

     (iv) An advertisement, listing for sale, or sale of an undisclosed speculative ticket.

     (c) Section 6-13.1-31(b)(3) does not apply to a website operator who is authorized by the

venue, performer, organization, association, or event organizer to use the name or trademark on

their behalf for the purpose of selling or reselling tickets.

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     (d) A violation of this section is an unfair or deceptive trade practice pursuant to this chapter

and any person who violates subsections (b)(1) through (b)(3)(iii) of this section shall forfeit and

pay to the state a civil penalty of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) per violation. Any

person who violates subsection (b)(iv) of this section shall forfeit and pay to the state a civil penalty

of not more than one thousand dollars($1,000) per violation. The attorney general, acting in the

name of the state, may petition for recovery of civil penalties.

     SECTION 3. This act shall take effect on January 1, 2021.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS -- SHOWS AND EXHIBITIONS

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     This act would establish a system for the regulation of ticket sales and resale and classify

certain practices employed by the ticket sellers as violations of the Deceptive Trade Practices Act

subject to civil penalties.

     This act would take effect on January 1, 2021.

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