The Federal Trade Commission's case against Live Nation and Ticketmaster under the BOTS Act can move forward. A federal judge in California denied Ticketmaster's motion to dismiss, rejecting the argument that the law only targets individual resellers and not ticketing platforms, Pollstar reported on October 1.
The ruling
Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong of the Central District of California wrote: "The BOTS Act does not preclude platforms from facing liability, and the court will not read it as doing so." The case now moves to discovery. The ruling allows the case to continue. It is not a finding that Ticketmaster broke the law.
What the FTC alleges
The suit was filed in September 2026 and joined by the attorneys general of Virginia, Utah, Florida, Tennessee, Nebraska, Illinois and Colorado. According to Pollstar, it alleges that Ticketmaster and Live Nation "tacitly worked" with secondary sellers, allowing brokers to buy tickets in large numbers and resell them at marked-up prices, often on Ticketmaster's own platform.
The FTC says an unnamed senior Ticketmaster executive wrote in an internal email that the companies "turn a blind eye as a matter of policy" to brokers breaking posted ticket limits. It also alleges that five brokers controlled 6,345 Ticketmaster accounts holding 246,407 tickets to 2,594 events, and that the company decided in 2021 against third-party identity verification because it was "too effective." These are allegations in the FTC's complaint and have not been proven in court.
The suit also alleges Ticketmaster advertised prices that did not include mandatory fees. Pollstar notes that Ticketmaster voluntarily switched to all-in upfront pricing at Live Nation venues in June 2023.
What the FTC is asking for
The FTC is asking the court to permanently bar Ticketmaster and Live Nation from violating the FTC Act, the BOTS Act and the plaintiff states' consumer protection laws, plus monetary relief and fines. FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said in a statement that it "should not cost an arm and a leg to take the family to a baseball game or attend your favorite musician's show."
Why fans should care
Purchase limits exist so that real fans get a fair shot at face value tickets. Whether a ticketing company has to actively enforce those limits is exactly what this case is about. The Ring will follow it as discovery goes on.