Michigan nears ticket bot ban as House OKs plan inspired by Taylor Swift

• Michigan House lawmakers overwhelmingly approved legislation to crack down on online ticket scalping efforts
• The two bill, bipartisan package would implement a $5,000 civil fine for each ticket bought in violation of the potential law
• The package now moves over to the Democratic-led Senate, which is already considering similar legislation

LANSING — A long-discussed plan to crack down on online ticket scalping by instituting hefty fines was approved with wide and bipartisan support Tuesday in the Michigan House. 

The legislation, which would bar a person from using or creating a “bot” software program to get around online ticket purchasing limits, passed in 104-1 votes and now heads to the Senate for further consideration. 

“At the end of the day, I think it's most important that we get this policy across the finish line so that the (attorney general) has got tools to work with to try and rein some of this in,” Rep. Mike Harris, R-Waterford Township, one of the package’s two sponsors, told reporters following the vote.

Under the House plan, using bots could result in a civil fine of up to $5,000 for each ticket purchased. Those funds, collected by the Department of Attorney General, would then be redeposited into the state’s general fund.

Consumers could notify the Attorney General’s office of potential violations through a consumer complaint form.

The House approved similar legislation last year that stalled in the Senate. But this time around, the upper chamber is also working to ban ticket bots. Similar bipartisan bills advanced out of committee earlier this month.

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Should the state send either package to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s desk, Michigan would become the 14th state to ban the practice of ticket bot scalping, alongside Oregon, North Carolina, Minnesota, Tennessee and more.

While bots have been long-used to purchase tickets online, the practice received stricter scrutiny after pop superstar Taylor Swift’s 2023 Eras Tour.

Tickets initially worth anywhere from $250 to $500 resold for up to $10,000. For a show in East Rutherford, New Jersey, some tickets were available but at a hefty $17,000. In Boston, a pair of VIP seats were listed for $22,000.

The move led many, including members of Congress, to criticize Ticketmaster for allowing bots to run rampant as the company’s website crashed or abruptly kicked users from virtual queues, some of whom had been in lines for hours.

While Congress banned the use of ticket bots in 2016, officials say it’s often hard to punish these actors at the state level.

“I don't know that it's going to be something that's prosecuted all the time, (but) I'd love to rein in every single one of them,” said Harris, the Waterford Township Republican.

Both chambers of Michigan’s newly divided Legislature appear poised to take action this year. 

Rosie Jones, spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, said the Senate plans to vote on its own ticket bot package later this week.

Rep. Mike McFall, D-Hazel Park, told Bridge Michigan prior to Tuesday’s vote that he is “in talks” with the Senate over the dueling bill packages but did not say which one could ultimately earn Whitmer’s signature.