North Carolina SB 849: Real Tickets, Real Fans Act.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
S 1
SENATE BILL 849

Short Title: Real Tickets, Real Fans Act. (Public)
Sponsors: Senators Moffitt, Sawyer, and Chaudhuri (Primary Sponsors).
Referred to: Rules and Operations of the Senate
April 28, 2026
*S849-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO PROHIBIT SPECULATIVE SALES, DECEPTIVE PROMOTION, AND THE 2
USE OF BOTS IN ENTERTAINMENT EVENT TICKET SALES. 3
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 4
SECTION 1.(a) Chapter 75 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new 5
Article to read: 6
"Article 9. 7
"Entertainment Event Ticket Sales and Resales." 8
SECTION 1.(b) The following provisions are to be located in Article 9 of Chapter 9
75 of the General Statutes, as established by subsection (a) of this section: 10
(1) Subsection (a) of G.S. 75-44 is recodified as G.S. 75-151, to be titled 11
"Definitions." 12
(2) Subsection (b) of G.S. 75-44 is recodified as G.S. 75-152, to be titled "Ticket 13
price transparency." 14
(3) Subsection (c) of G.S. 75-44 is recodified as G.S. 75-157, to be titled 15
"Enforcement." 16
SECTION 2. Article 9 of Chapter 75 of the General Statutes, as established by 17
Section 1 of this act, reads as rewritten: 18
"Article 9. 19
"Entertainment Event Ticket Sales and Resales. 20
"§ 75-151. Definitions. 21
As used in this section Article, the following definitions apply: 22
(1) Bot. – Any machine, device, computer program, or computer software used to 23
purchase tickets that, on its own or with human assistance, bypasses security 24
measures or access control systems on a retail ticket purchasing platform or 25
other controls or measures on a retail ticket purchasing platform that assist in 26
implementing a limit on the number of tickets that can be purchased for an 27
entertainment event. 28
(2) Clearly and conspicuously disclose. – To present information in a manner that 29
is difficult to miss and easily understandable, including by meeting the 30
following standards: 31
a. In the case of a visual disclosure, its size, contrast, location, the length 32
of time it appears, and other characteristics stand out from and are 33
equal to or greater in size than any accompanying text or other visual 34
elements so that it is easily noticed, read, and understood. 35
b. It is unavoidable. 36

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 Senate Bill 849-First Edition
c. It uses diction and syntax understandable to ordinary consumers and 1
appears in each language in which the representation that requires the 2
disclosure appears. 3
d. It is not contradicted, mitigated by, or inconsistent with any other 4
communication made to a consumer. 5
(3) Entertainer. – An individual, group, or team that performs at an entertainment 6
event. 7
(1)(4) Entertainment event. – A sporting game or contest, concert, or other 8
entertainment performance with a live presentation element in this State for 9
which attendance is available to the public through the purchase of a ticket. 10
(5) Fan club. – A membership-based program, established by an entertainer, 11
venue, or event organizer, or an agent or affiliate of such, that offers members 12
the opportunity to purchase tickets for an entertainment event prior to the 13
tickets being offered for sale to the general public. 14
(2)(6) Mandatory fee. – Any fee or surcharge that a consumer must pay in order to 15
purchase a ticket to an entertainment event. 16
(3)(7) Resale. – The second or subsequent sale of a ticket through a website or other 17
electronic means.by any method, including in-person transactions, telephone, 18
mail, email, facsimile, or electronic means through websites or mobile 19
applications. 20
(4)(8) Reseller. – A person engaged in the resale of tickets. This term includes agents 21
and affiliates of a reseller. 22
(5)(9) Secondary ticket exchange. – An electronic marketplace that enables persons 23
to sell, purchase, and resell tickets. This term includes agents and affiliates of 24
a secondary ticket exchange. 25
(10) Speculative ticket. – A ticket not in the actual or constructive possession of a 26
reseller at the time of listing, sale, or advertisement, including tickets not 27
owned by the reseller or under contract to be transferred to the reseller at the 28
time of sale. 29
(6)(11) Ticket issuer. – The person that is the first seller of tickets for an entertainment 30
event, including a musician or musical group, an operator of a venue, sponsor 31
or a promoter of an entertainment event, a sports team participating in an 32
entertainment event, a sports league whose teams are participating in an 33
entertainment event, a theater company, a marketplace or service operated for 34
consumers to make an initial purchase of tickets, or an agent of any of the 35
persons listed in this subdivision. 36
(7)(12) Ticketing link website. – A website that purports to sell entertainment event 37
tickets when no transactions occur on the website but instead links or redirects 38
to