Three New York area ticket sellers have been fined by the FTC under the BOTS Act Engadget reports. It is the first case to be filed under Obama-era anti-scalping legislation that was passed in 2016. Three companies: Just in Time Tickets, Inc., Cartisim Corp. and Concert Specials, Inc., and their directors, Evan Kohanian, Simon Ebrani, and Steven Brani, are said to have used ticketing robots to buy tickets at the resale market. A civil penalty sentence was handed down for a total of $ 3.7 million.
“The three ticket brokers will be subject to a $ 31 million lawsuit in civil sanctions for breach of the Online Ticket Sales Act (BOTS), according to a proposed agreement reached with the FTC,” the case summary. “Due to their inability to pay, the sentence will be partially suspended, forcing them to pay $ 3.7 million.”
“Bipartisan sponsors of the Act tried to repress the abuses that unscrupulous actors inflict on consumers whose fingers to write do not match the algorithms to try to secure online tickets,” reads a statement from the acting president. the FTC, Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, who worked on the BOTS Actua program during her time working under Sen. Chuck Schumer. “The settlements our staff negotiated with these alleged BOTS Act violators make it clear that there will be serious consequences for those who fool fans with a fair shot to get tickets for live events.”
Read “Why Ticket Climbing Won’t Get Away” in the Pitch section.