Bill Banning 'Ticket-Bots' Passes State Senate

We don't always agree with Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson. But on THIS one, he got it 100% right. The Senate passed the bill, the House already has, and it will soon become a law.

Since the Super Bowl debacle over Washington state fans being cheated out of tickets for the Big Game, much attention has been also been focused on the use of "ticket bots" to buy large quantities of seats for events; usually used by second-party vendors.

Ticket bots, or robots, are computerized purchase programs that swoop in when tickets for an event go on sale. They're programmed to go after the best seats. The bots purchase many more tickets at a much faster rate than any of us could, and then they're resold on the secondary market by vendors - usually at significantly inflated prices.

Ferguson and legislators call it "digital scalping."

Bots aren't always bad. Automated computer programs are what help make your computer run a virus or maintenance scan every midnight, or once a week. But bots are also increasingly being used for email spam, scamming, and ticket sales.

The State Senate, by a vote of 49-0, approved a bill pushed by Attorney General Ferguson that would completely outlaw the use of ticket bots for ANY event in Washington state - and that includes Mariners and SEAHAWKS. Ferguson and the legislators believe this will result in better opportunities for fans to buy them, and lower prices.

Ferguson said this Wednesday in his news release:

"The legislation bans ticket bot use and makes it a violation of the state Consumer Protection Act to sell software to circumvent, interfere with or evade any security measure or access-control system on a ticket seller’s website."

Ticketmaster officials say bots often consume up to 60% of available tickets for high demand, popular events in our state. Some are programmed to "bypass" purchasing security limits on event websites. Some of these bots can evade programs that only allow consumers to purchase limited numbers of tickets.

A State House version of this bill has already passed. The two bills will be blended together, and sent to Gov. Inslee for his signature.

13 other states, including California and Oregon, already have such laws on their books banning the use of ticket bots.