H 598

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
  SESSION 2025
 H  1
  HOUSE BILL 598
 Short Title:    Live Event Ticketing Protections & Reforms.  (Public)
 Sponsors:       Representatives Willis, Johnson, McNeely, and Schietzelt (Primary Sponsors).
  For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
 Referred to:    Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
  April 1, 2025
1A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
2 AN ACT TO CREATE CONSUMER PROTECTIONS FOR SECONDARY TICKET
3      PURCHASERS AND TO PROHIBIT SECONDARY TICKET SELLERS FROM USING
4      THE NAME OF A VENUE OR EVENT IN THEIR WEBSITE ADDRESS.
5 The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
6SECTION 1.(a) Chapter 75 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new
7 Article to read:
8"Article 9.
9"Live Event Ticket Sales and Resales."
10SECTION 1.(b) Subsections (a) and (c) of G.S. 75-44 are recodified as subsections
11 (a) and (b), respectively, of G.S. 75-151, to be titled "Definitions; enforcement," to be located in
12 Article 9 of Chapter 75 of the General Statutes, as established by subsection (a) of this section.
13SECTION 1.(c) Subsection (b) of G.S. 75-44 is recodified as G.S. 75-152, to be
14 titled "Ticket price transparency," to be located in Article 9 of Chapter 75 of the General Statutes,
15 as established by subsection (a) of this section.
16SECTION 1.(d) Article 9 of Chapter 75 of the General Statutes, as established by
17 subsection (a) of this section, reads as rewritten:
18"Article 9.
19"Live Event Ticket Sales and Resales.
20 "§ 75-151. Definitions; enforcement.
21      (a)    As used in this section Article, the following definitions apply:
22(1)     Entertainment event. – A sporting game or contest, concert, or other
23entertainment performance with a live presentation element in this State for
24which attendance is available to the public through the purchase of ticket.
25(2)     Mandatory fee. – Any fee or surcharge that a consumer must pay in order to
26purchase a ticket to an entertainment event.
27(3)     Resale. – The second or subsequent sale of a ticket through a website or other
28electronic means.
29(4)     Reseller. – A person engaged in the resale of tickets.
30(5)     Secondary ticket exchange. – An electronic marketplace that enables persons
31to sell, purchase, and resell tickets.
32(6)     Ticket issuer. – The person that is the first seller of tickets for an entertainment
33event, including a musician or musical group, an operator of a venue, sponsor
34or a promoter of an entertainment event, a sports team participating in an
35entertainment event, a sports league whose teams are participating in an
  *H598-v-1*
 General Assembly Of North Carolina  Session 2025
1entertainment event, a theater company, a marketplace or service operated for
2consumers to make an initial purchase of tickets, or an agent of any of the
3persons listed in this subdivision.
4(7)      Ticketing session. – The period of time beginning when the price of a ticket
5to an entertainment event is first displayed to a person through a website or
6application and ending when the person has not purchased the ticket within
7the time period prescribed by the secondary ticket exchange, ticket issuer, or
8reseller.
9      (b)    A violation of this section Article is an unfair trade practice under G.S. 75-1.1 and is
10 subject to all of the investigative, enforcement, and penalty provisions of an unfair trade practice
11 under this Article.Chapter.
12 "§ 75-152. Ticket price transparency.
13      A secondary ticket exchange, ticket issuer, or reseller shall meet the following requirements
14 when listing a ticket for sale or resale:
15(1)      At any time the price of the ticket is displayed to the purchaser, the listing
16shall clearly and conspicuously disclose the total price of the ticket, including
17all mandatory fees and the maximum order processing fee, if any.
18(2)      The total price of the ticket initially displayed at the beginning of a ticketing
19session shall not be increased during that ticketing session, except by the
20addition of the charges permitted under subdivision (4) of this subsection.
21(3)      The listing shall clearly and conspicuously disclose to the consumer the
22existence and actual dollar amount of each mandatory fee, if any, prior to the
23completion of the transaction. The descriptor used to identify each mandatory
24fee shall not be deceptive or misleading.
25(4)      The following charges are not mandatory fees and may be added to the ticket
26price and shall be disclosed to the purchaser prior to purchase of the ticket:
27a.      Actual charges required to deliver a non-electronic ticket to the
28address specified by the purchaser by the delivery method designated
29by the purchaser.
30b.      Taxes or fees imposed on the transaction by any government.
31c.      A reasonable fee for processing the order.
32 "§ 75-153. Restrictions for ticket issuers.
33      (a)    A ticket issuer shall not restrict or hinder the ability of a purchaser that has purchased
34 a ticket from a ticket issuer from doing any of the following:
35(1)      Reselling a ticket independently of the primary ticket seller or any secondary
36ticket exchange owned or affiliated with the ticket issuer.
37(2)      Reselling a ticket on the secondary ticket exchange of the purchaser's
38choosing.
39      (b)    A ticket issuer may not require a minimum or maximum price for the resale of a ticket
40 purchased from the issuer.
41      (c)    A ticket issuer may not sanction, discriminate against, or deny a purchaser admission
42 to an event, deny rights to bundled series tickets or the renewal thereof, or otherwise discriminate
43 against a secondary ticket exchange seller or purchaser on the basis that the ticket was resold,
44 gifted, or purchased as a resold ticket.
45      (d)    A ticket issuer shall deliver an electronic ticket to a purchaser within 72 hours of
46 confirming the purchase order, unless the event occurs within 72 hours of the purchase, in which
47 case a ticket issuer shall deliver the ticket as soon as reasonably possible following purchase
48 order confirmation.
49      (e)    Nothing in this section prohibits an operator of a live entertainment venue from doing
50 any of the following:
 Page 2  House Bill 598-First Edition
 General Assembly Of North Carolina  Session 2025
1(1)      Maintaining and enforcing policies regarding conduct or behavior at or in
2connection with the operator's live entertainment venue.
3(2)      Establishing limits on the quantity of tickets that may be purchased.
4(3)      Selling or gifting nontransferable tickets to an event for either of the following
5reasons:
6a.      The event is a private event.
7b.      The ticket is offered at a discounted price to only a select group of
8people, including students, veterans, or members of an organization.
9Nontransferable tickets issued under this sub-subdivision shall be
10clearly marked as nontransferable and shall not be offered
11promotionally to the general public.
12 "§ 75-154. Secondary ticket exchange website addresses.
13     A secondary ticket exchange shall not use a website address that contains the name of or a
14 name substantially similar to the name of the event, a performer at the event, or the venue to
15 which the ticket is for."
16SECTION 2. This act becomes effective October 1, 2025.
 House Bill 598-First Edition  Page 3