Ticketmaster, the world’s largest online ticket vendor, has announced a new initiative to combat large-scale scalpers who utilize numerous fake accounts to purchase and resell tickets for various events like concerts, theater performances, and sports games.
This action follows a recent lawsuit filed by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission against Ticketmaster and its parent company, LiveNation, alleging unlawful ticket resale practices and misleading both artists and consumers regarding ticket prices and purchase limits.
In response to these allegations, Ticketmaster disclosed its plans to restrict individuals, including brokers, to a single Ticketmaster account and implement advanced AI technology to detect fraudulent activities. The company also revealed its decision to shut down a portion of its TradeDesk platform, which facilitates ticket reselling, in an effort to address the misuse of the system by scalpers.
The Federal Trade Commission’s lawsuit shed light on internal documents showing that a small group of brokers controlled thousands of Ticketmaster accounts and held an extensive inventory of tickets to various events. Ticketmaster has been criticized for its collaboration with scalpers, as revealed in an undercover investigation conducted by CBC News and the Toronto Star in 2018.
Despite Ticketmaster’s previous reluctance to crack down on scalpers using fake accounts, the company now pledges to take decisive action in light of legal challenges and public scrutiny. The ongoing efforts aim to create a fairer ticket-buying environment for both artists and fans alike.
