Is Ticket Scalping Illegal?

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  • Written By: Rachel Burkot
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  • Last Modified Date: 14 May 2017
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In the US, ticket scalping is the practice of buying and reselling event tickets by private citizens, rather than by the sponsoring venue or organization, usually at a much higher price than their face value. Laws about ticket scalping vary by state, and there is no federal law that prohibits the practice. Approximately 16 of the 50 states have a law that makes scalping illegal. Seven states — Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania — require a special license to resell tickets. Four states — North Dakota, South Dakota, Ohio and Virginia — leave the issue up to local municipalities.

When ticket scalping laws are broken, consequences are often not enforced. As with crime in general, police officers handle the offense according to severity. Scalping is a nonviolent crime without a victim — in fact, it is a crime where both parties are agreeable to the transaction. Therefore, cops are often hesitant to get involved.

In addition to state laws, other laws make scalping illegal in raceways and the NFL. Those who can enforce the law at races or football games include box office personnel, supervisors, venue managers, ticket agents, security agents, event promoters and seat holders. At other events, reselling tickets is not illegal, but it's not permitted on stadium grounds. This is why scalping often occurs in close proximity to events, such as concerts or baseball games, but not within the grounds or stadium.


Laws became even more difficult to enforce when the practice became widespread online. Internet sites that resell tickets are regulated, tax-paying websites that capitalize on fans’ eagerness to buy tickets at any cost. If the official website for the event sells out, these sites promote themselves as a second chance. Efforts to make the practice illegal are overshadowed by such websites.

Those in favor of the legality of ticket scalping say that going through brokers creates a safe and reliable way to get tickets. They state that it creates a fair, open market that both parties are agreeable toward. Those who want to make the practice illegal argue that the system favors the wealthy and prompts scalpers to buy large quantities of tickets strictly for resale. If the reseller buys up the tickets, fans may not have the opportunity to purchase tickets at their original cost.

Ticket scalpers are motivated by different factors, including greed, the desire to prey on fans’ emotions, and a love of capitalism. When scalpers buy large quantities of tickets, they take the risk of failing to resell all of them, losing money. People who attend concerts or sporting events are usually emotionally invested in that event, and resellers take advantage of those feelings. Others see themselves as businessmen. In an effort to compromise on ticket scalping laws, licenses or permits are often required, and the decision to make scalping illegal is made by individual states or municipalities.


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Discuss this Article

Post 11

Street scalpers offer a win-win proposal that carries the risk of lose-lose. They want your money, you want their ticket; open market regulates the price based on supply/demand. Their risk is not being able to find a buyer, the buyer's risk is paying more than standard. Scalpers are not guaranteed a return on their investment, even as far as having to sell them for less than face value. I have bought tickets from scalpers for more than 20 concerts, and only one time have I had to pay more than face value. Negotiation is an art, patience is a virtue.

Post 10

I have a question out of curiosity that hopefully someone could help me answer. I'm wondering where this fits in this argument of ticket brokering being legal/illegal, etc. I've had a difficult time figuring out where this scenario fits.

Is it illegal to buy tickets from one secondary market (anywhere other than the original ticket seller such as Ticketmaster or directly from a team/arena from a site like eBay, StubHub, Vivid Seats, other ticket resale marketplaces) and sell them at a different price in another secondary market. For example, let's say I purchased a pair of tickets for $100 on eBay. A couple of days later, I sell the same tickets for $150 on StubHub. Unlike bigger ticket scalpers

who buy a ton of tickets at once, this is buying and selling tickets from secondary markets.

Would I still be subject to the same laws of scalping being illegal? Would I be subject to paying tax at the end of the year or declaring this as "profit" I make at the end of a calendar year? Would the rules be different if I did this regularly versus infrequently (making two to five transactions a week versus two to five transactions a month, would the rules that apply be different)? Or would this viewed as nothing more than buying and selling to demand like stocks or collectible commodities?

Thanks in advance for any answers you can provide.

Post 9

What about when a scalper uses a program to jam up the system with automatic purchases preventing private individuals wanting to purchase tickets the hour they go on sale? I agree it is not fair. I wanted two tickets, and I knew when they went on sale. I could not get through and now they are charging more than double the fee. The artist isn't making any more money. The scalper hasn't performed any service other than to block my original purchase.

Post 8

@anon143266: It's actually not fair. It'd be one thing if they charged for even close to the face value, but they don't.

There have been numerous times (this morning included) where I have been online with my finger on the refresh button two minutes prior to the official selling time.

At 10 a.m., I was not able to get tickets. I tried, over and over again, because I am optimistic but kept getting the same message saying they didn't have the two tickets I wanted. An hour later, the event was declared sold out.

I immediately checked Stubhub - they had 172 tickets for the event, all starting at three times the face value of the ticket! I now realize I

couldn't get them because resellers were buying them at the exact same time, not even letting us eager consumers purchase the tickets for the event we want!

If I could, I would pay the artist directly, but no, I already have to give ticketmaster x amount in fees, and now some jerks purchase up the tickets I"m trying to buy and want to charge me triple the price!

I can barely stand paying ticketmaster, so I am definitely not going to pay some stranger more than the actual artist who created the music I want to hear live! Total extortion.

Post 7

The unfair part of scalping is when scalpers buy up a large amount of tickets, making it impossible for enough customers to buy the tickets they want at the affordable price. I don't know if there is a limit to the number of tickets you can buy at one time, but I'm sure there are ways to get around it.

What if a scalper buys up a whole section at once? Yes, they run the risk of not selling, but why should they care if they've sold their other tickets at a huge markup? Another thing is, yes, you should not wait until the last minute. But I just got a flyer in the mail about a show I had

no idea about. Tickets went on sale in March. It's not till next month, but now there is only one seat left.

I'm sure it's because of scalpers, because I found some selling seats on ebay. Now I can't go because I can't afford the huge markup. I couldn't buy tickets to a show I didn't know about. Just the other side of the coin.

Post 6

if you really want the fair price, how about buy the tickets before that night? Who said you had to wait till the last minute to get a ticket. Use some foresight!

Post 5

RE: higher price because of greed: Really? It's not "fair?" Seems perfectly fair to me. Someone's got a product to sell, someone else is looking for that product. They get together, negotiate a deal, and everyone walks away with what they want. What on earth could be *more fair?

Of course, one has to be over the age of, say, nine, emotionally speaking, to appreciate the absolutely beautiful way the system works, which may be why some folks find it "unfair." --xtina

Post 4

FrameMaker, nicely said. I do the same thing with my Red Sox season tickets.

Post 3

@ FrameMaker- I am with you, I think that the only ones really complaining about scalpers are the sports teams who wish that they were making more money. Real fans follow their teams or favorite artists, and know when the tickets go on sale. Everyone has access to the tickets at the same time, scalpers and non-scalpers alike. Scalpers also run the risk of not selling all of their tickets as well. I have shown up late to concerts and been able to get in for less than half price by buying tickets form a scalper who bought too many tickets.

I just think that the sports leagues and states should just let people do what they want with services

that they have paid for. I can buy almost anything for someone else, whether I know him or her or not, so why not tickets to an event? Outlawing scalping is like telling people that they can't buy collectibles to resell, or sell the hottest Christmas toys to the highest bidder.
Post 2

@ FrameMaker- I disagree with you. Why should I have to pay a higher price than the next person because someone else was greedy? Scalping isn't fair, and just like the article says, it makes the average person pay higher prices. If I loved the Cowboys, and I had just moved from my home state, you charging $500 per ticket would be like playing my emotions against me.

Post 1

I personally don't see a problem with ticket scalping. When I first moved to Phoenix, I bought Season tickets to the Cardinals in the Club Section. I paid about 2000 for two season tickets, but ended up seeing most of the games for much cheaper. I sold the tickets to the Dallas Game because I had no interest in seeing the Cowboys play, and I knew that there were a lot of transplants from Texas who wanted to see the game. I figured that if they were going to be rooting against my new home team, I would make them pay.

I sold the tickets for $500 apiece, making back half of the money for my season tickets in one

sale. I sold one more pair of tickets that season and made another $400, so I only paid $600 for six sets of great regular season tickets, plus preseason games. If scalping were illegal, then I would have never been able to afford such great seats. I was able to live like the wealthy, eating at the premium buffets, extra wide seats, full bars with lounges and player meet and greets, all for less than the price of a pair of cheap seats for the season.

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