BLOG: New Legislation Will Make Illinois the Leader in the Nation for Protecting Ticketholders

Poll Shows 9 in 10 Illinois Residents Overwhelmingly Support Passage of New Law

The Problem

With live events back in full force, buying and selling tickets can be even more of a hassle for consumers. Meanwhile, no-shows at venues are at an all-time high (which you can read about HERE).  Events which were rescheduled because of the pandemic may no longer work for ticketholders and other fans may be concerned about COVID exposure. As a result of schedule changes, many fans want to be able to give away or sell their tickets. Ticketholders should be able to recover their money, or resell their tickets as they wish, rather than being forced to choose between protecting their health and meeting other obligations or losing the cost of the ticket.

Background

The pandemic cancelled tens of thousands of live events all at once leaving many consumers without refunds. This is wrong, and a new proposed law in Illinois will change that, providing consumers with refund protection and guarantees in any future pandemic-like situation. The legislation goes on to strengthen the current Illinois law that protects your right to use, sell, or give way your tickets as you wish by requiring purchased tickets be freely transferable. This is especially important today given that some large ticketing companies are using technology to make it difficult for you to transfer your purchased tickets however you wish. It should not be a headache to do so, and you should not be restricted to the original seller’s app or system to do so.

Refund protection is important because tickets can be expensive. Transferability is equally important because if you cannot attend the event or think you should not attend the event, you should not get stuck and lose your investment. Illinois is currently one of six states that protects your ticket transferability rights, but the law was written before tickets were digital and transferred through apps on smartphones. It’s time to update this law, making Illinois the most innovative in its ticket consumer protections.

 

The Legislation 

The Illinois Ticket Sale and Resale Act is the fix that Illinois fans deserve. The bill, introduced by Rep. Michael Zalewski will modernize the Illinois ticketing market to protect consumers from online scams and sketchy tech practices.

Here’s what the bill would do:

• Guarantee refunds in the event of an extreme event (like a pandemic) and creating a clear path to get your money back for a cancelled or significantly postponed event
• Ensure consumers have the right to transfer tickets if you can’t make it to a show or game – whether your babysitter canceled last minute, or you don’t feel comfortable going into a stadium during COVID
• Protect consumer privacy by preventing big ticketing companies from requiring fans to disclose personally identifiable information just to get a ticket

The Illinois Ticket Sale and Resale Act is similar to laws in other states that protect your consumer rights, but it goes an extra step and may soon become the strongest consumer ticketing law in the country because it will also require refunds for events that are cancelled or postponed for the long term in a pandemic-like situation in the future.

Reforms are popular – don’t take our word for it!

In a survey of 500 Illinois adults March 25 – 29, 2021, nearly 9 out of 10 consumers supported new laws to guarantee refunds and protect transferability – both of which are important provisions of the Illinois Ticket Sale and Resale Act.