North Carolina HB 598: Live Event Ticketing Protections and Reforms.

Bill Text

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
*H598-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO CREATE CONSUMER PROTECTIONS FOR SECONDARY TICKET 2
PURCHASERS AND TO PROHIBIT SECONDARY TICKET SELLERS FROM USING 3
THE NAME OF A VENUE OR EVENT IN THEIR WEBSITE ADDRESS. 4
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 5
SECTION 1.(a) Chapter 75 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new 6
Article to read: 7
"Article 9. 8
"Live Event Ticket Sales and Resales." 9
SECTION 1.(b) Subsections (a) and (c) of G.S. 75-44 are recodified as subsections 10
(a) and (b), respectively, of G.S. 75-151, to be titled "Definitions; enforcement," to be located in 11
Article 9 of Chapter 75 of the General Statutes, as established by subsection (a) of this section. 12
SECTION 1.(c) Subsection (b) of G.S. 75-44 is recodified as G.S. 75-152, to be 13
titled "Ticket price transparency," to be located in Article 9 of Chapter 75 of the General Statutes, 14
as established by subsection (a) of this section. 15
SECTION 1.(d) Article 9 of Chapter 75 of the General Statutes, as established by 16
subsection (a) of this section, reads as rewritten: 17
"Article 9. 18
"Live Event Ticket Sales and Resales. 19
"§ 75-151. Definitions; enforcement. 20
(a) As used in this section Article, the following definitions apply: 21
(1) Entertainment event. – A sporting game or contest, concert, or other 22
entertainment performance with a live presentation element in this State for 23
which attendance is available to the public through the purchase of ticket. 24
(2) Mandatory fee. – Any fee or surcharge that a consumer must pay in order to 25
purchase a ticket to an entertainment event. 26
(3) Resale. – The second or subsequent sale of a ticket through a website or other 27
electronic means. 28
(4) Reseller. – A person engaged in the resale of tickets. 29
(5) Secondary ticket exchange. – An electronic marketplace that enables persons 30
to sell, purchase, and resell tickets. 31
(6) Ticket issuer. – The person that is the first seller of tickets for an entertainment 32
event, including a musician or musical group, an operator of a venue, sponsor 33
or a promoter of an entertainment event, a sports team participating in an 34
entertainment event, a sports league whose teams are participating in an 35

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 598-First Edition
entertainment event, a theater company, a marketplace or service operated for 1
consumers to make an initial purchase of tickets, or an agent of any of the 2
persons listed in this subdivision. 3
(7) Ticketing session. – The period of time beginning when the price of a ticket 4
to an entertainment event is first displayed to a person through a website or 5
application and ending when the person has not purchased the ticket within 6
the time period prescribed by the secondary ticket exchange, ticket issuer, or 7
reseller. 8
(b) A violation of this section Article is an unfair trade practice under G.S. 75-1.1 and is 9
subject to all of the investigative, enforcement, and penalty provisions of an unfair trade practice 10
under this Article.Chapter. 11
"§ 75-152. Ticket price transparency. 12
A secondary ticket exchange, ticket issuer, or reseller shall meet the following requirements 13
when listing a ticket for sale or resale: 14
(1) At any time the price of the ticket is displayed to the purchaser, the listing 15
shall clearly and conspicuously disclose the total price of the ticket, including 16
all mandatory fees and the maximum order processing fee, if any. 17
(2) The total price of the ticket initially displayed at the beginning of a ticketing 18
session shall not be increased during that ticketing session, except by the 19
addition of the charges permitted under subdivision (4) of this subsection. 20
(3) The listing shall clearly and conspicuously disclose to the consumer the 21
existence and actual dollar amount of each mandatory fee, if any, prior to the 22
completion of the transaction. The descriptor used to identify each mandatory 23
fee shall not be deceptive or misleading. 24
(4) The following charges are not mandatory fees and may be added to the ticket 25
price and shall be disclosed to the purchaser prior to purchase of the ticket: 26
a. Actual charges required to deliver a non-electronic ticket to the 27
address specified by the purchaser by the delivery method designated 28
by the purchaser. 29
b. Taxes or fees imposed on the transaction by any government. 30
c. A reasonable fee for processing the order. 31
"§ 75-153. Restrictions for ticket issuers. 32
(a) A ticket issuer shall not restrict or hinder the ability of a purchaser that h