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S 286

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2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Michael Johnson and 2 co-sponsors

Prohibits preselling event tickets to resellers and bans software/bots that restrict public access during the first 24 hours of on-sale, to ensure fair ticket distribution.

Referred to Committee on Judiciary
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Bill Summary · S 286

Summary — S 286 (2025): “An Act relative to the fair distribution and pricing of event tickets”

Important note: the bill text supplied is a Massachusetts bill presented by Senators Michael F. Rush and Paul McMurtry concerning event tickets. Some accompanying metadata (title referencing voter ID, sponsor lists naming federal/state legislators, and repeated “referred to elections” entries) are inconsistent with the bill text. This summary follows the bill text provided, which addresses ticket distribution and resale.

Purpose

To improve public access to primary-market event tickets and limit practices that divert tickets to the secondary (resale) market by:
- prohibiting ticket issuers from preselling tickets to resellers intended for secondary-market sale; and
- barring ticket resellers from using software or other technology that, for the purpose or with the foreseeable effect, restricts public access to tickets during the first 24 hours of on-sale.

The stated intent is “fair distribution and pricing of event tickets.”

Key provisions

  • Adds Section 185J to chapter 140 (amending section 185I) with definitions and prohibitions.
  • Definitions included:
    • “Event ticket”: physical, electronic, or other certificate for concerts, sports, theatrical events, exhibitions, etc., taking place in the Commonwealth.
    • “Software”: computer programs primarily designed to purchase tickets from a ticket issuer for resale on the secondary market.
    • “Ticket issuer”: person/company selling tickets initially to the general public (primary market).
    • “Ticket reseller”: any transfer or offering of an event ticket from one person to another (excluding the ticket issuer’s initial sale).
  • Prohibitions:
    • Ticket issuers may not pre-sell event tickets to ticket resellers for the purpose of secondary-market resale.
    • Ticket resellers are prohibited from using software or other technology that purposefully or foreseeably restricts ticket sales to the general public within 24 hours of tickets going on sale.
  • Effective date: upon passage.

Who is affected

  • Ticket issuers (promoters, venues, primary ticketing platforms): prohibited from preselling to resellers.
  • Secondary-market resellers/brokers and operators of automated purchasing software (“bots”).
  • Consumers: potentially improved access to initial ticket allocations during on-sale windows.
  • Ticketing platforms and software developers: required to ensure compliance; may need technical changes and monitoring.
  • Venues and promoters that run presales (fan clubs, credit-card presales) may need to review practices to ensure they do not facilitate resale.

Legislative status (as provided)

  • Introduced in Senate: 1/28/2025; read twice and referred to Judiciary.
  • Referred to Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure: 2/27/2025.
  • Hearing scheduled: 06/02/2025, 1:00–5:00 PM (location B-2).
  • Bill text indicates filing 1/13/2025 in the Senate.

Notes and considerations

  • The text does not specify enforcement mechanisms, penalties, or civil remedies; those details would be important for implementation and compliance.
  • The 24-hour restriction targets the earliest on-sale period; it does not spell out exceptions (e.g., verified presales, VIP packages) — interpretation may depend on implementing regulations or judicial rulings.
  • Practical impacts include potential reductions in bot-driven secondary-market listings at initial on-sales, but also administrative/technical burdens on ticketing platforms and possible legal challenges (contractual or commerce-related) depending on enforcement.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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