FTC Sues Live Nation and Ticketmaster, Alleges BOTS Act Violations

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and seven state attorneys general have filed a joint complaint against Live Nation and its subsidiary, Ticketmaster, alleging violations of Section 5 of the FTC Act and the BOTS Act (Better Online Ticket Sales).

In a blog, the Covington firm notes that the case is the first to combine claims under both the FTC Act and the BOTS Act against a major ticketing platform, marking a significant enforcement development in digital marketplace regulation.

The complaint stems from the FTC’s contention that Ticketmaster’s business practices misled consumers and enabled large-scale ticket brokering. Each participating state also brings claims under its respective consumer protection statutes.

The FTC asserts that the company concealed full ticket prices by displaying deceptively low base prices that excluded mandatory service fees, in some cases raising total costs to consumers by 24 to 44%. Between 2019 and 2024, these fees generated approximately $6.4 billion in revenue.

The FTC also alleges that Ticketmaster failed to curb violations of the BOTS Act by allowing brokers to bypass security and ticket limits, citing an internal review showing five brokers controlled over 246,000 tickets through thousands of accounts.

According to the complaint, Ticketmaster facilitated broker operations through its TradeDesk software, which consolidates tickets across multiple accounts for resale management. The FTC claims the company knowingly declined stronger anti-bot technology to protect revenue.

It also alleges a “triple dip” in fee collection, profiting from initial sales, broker resales, and consumer resale fees, and thereby collecting nearly $1 billion from 2019 to 2024.

Attorneys should be aware that this case signals growing federal and multistate cooperation in consumer protection enforcement, particularly where digital platforms intersect with deceptive pricing and regulatory noncompliance.