Warning: Constant ABSPATH already defined in /home/flanews/public_html/wp-config.php on line 34
Capitol News Service » Blog Archive » Ticketholder’s Rights Bill Passes Subcommittee

Welcome to

Capitol News Service

Florida's Best Political Coverage on Television

Ticketholder’s Rights Bill Passes Subcommittee

March 12th, 2013 by flanews

Paperless tickets are seen by many as the way of the future for live concerts and sporting events. But may be not in Florida. As Whitney Ray tells us, there’s a push at the state capitol to block electronic tickets that can only be transferred using the buyer’s credit card and photo ID.

Professional sporting events, concerts and plays; the cost of admission, one ticket. But what you do with your ticket after you buy it may be in jeopardy. Chris Grimm with Fan Freedom says the advent of paperless tickets has made gifting or reselling tickets nearly impossible.

“If I buy a ticket, I have to show up with the credit card I bought the ticket on and my photo ID and they are nontransferable,” said Grimm.

Grimm is supporting a bill guaranteeing buyers the right to resell or give away their tickets without having to lend someone their credit card or ID.

“It’s not the delivery method that concerns us, it’s the restriction on the ticket that we have a problem with,” said Grimm.

But venue managers and companies that sell tickets say the paperless movement protects against scalpers.

“Brokers scoop in, they actually try to sell the tickets before I even put them on sale,” said Ron Spencer who manages the Leon County Civics Center.

Spencer says electronic tickets keep scalpers from buying up all the good seats and inflating the price. He says that’s why some artists only offer electronic tickets for the best seats.

“It’s a very, very small percentage of the tickets sold. Only one tenth of one percent of all tickets sold are paperless tickets,” said Spencer.

But Grimm says it’s a growing trend.

“Right now it might be the floor and lower bowl are restricted tickets, but in the future it could be every seat in the house is restricted,” said Grimm.

How tickets are sold in Florida and what fan do with them could be decided this legislative session. The bill passed the House Business and Professional Regulation Subcommittee today. Its next stop is the Regulatory Affairs committee.

Posted in State News | No Comments »

Leave a Comment

Please note: Comment moderation is enabled and may delay your comment. There is no need to resubmit your comment.

copyright © 2016 by Capitol News Service | Powered by Wordpress | Hosted by LyonsHost.com