Ticket scammers are wreaking havoc on Dallas entertainment

Price gouging. Hidden fees. Deceptive websites. Fraudulent tickets. This is the minefield that live entertainment and performing arts fans must navigate today just to see a show.

And predatory ticket sellers aren’t just targeting fans of superstars like Beyoncé and Taylor Swift. They’re now going after shows in small to midsize venues, like the ones we run. The targets are everything from Broadway touring productions to holiday favorites like The Nutcracker to Texas bands and artists that don’t fill arenas but are beloved here in Dallas.

This angers fans and artists, as well as Dallas venue operators like us who must break the news to fans that their seats are not where they expected, or that they exponentially overpaid, or worse, bought counterfeit tickets. That’s highly damaging for an industry still recovering from the economic devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Every time a customer gets cheated is just one more reason to stay home.

To be clear, there is a legitimate secondary ticket market providing access to tickets for sold-out events and allowing fans whose plans have changed to sell their tickets at a fair price. Many follow good business standards with transparency. But as countless patrons know, without enforceable protections, the once-simple act of buying a ticket carries big risks.

Last December, a patron bought tickets from a secondary ticket seller to see Sarah Brightman perform at the Winspear Opera House. At $925 plus $300 in fees each, he assumed they were for sold-out, upfront seats. Upon arrival, he learned his upper-tier tickets could have been purchased from the venue that very night for just $69.

The Longhorn Ballroom worked last year with country star Colter Wall on multiple shows to make sure his fans had first access to tickets at the set prices. But when they went on sale, it quickly became apparent that bots were buying up large volumes of tickets with multiple credit cards linked to the same out-of-state address. We caught those tickets early and canceled and refunded them, thus freeing them up for real patrons. Other suspicious sales still got through.

We’ve also seen numerous cases of outright fraud for shows targeting fans of top stars and sold-out touring Broadway productions. When tickets are scanned at the door, some fans discover the tickets they bought from secondary sellers are fake. As venue operators, there isn’t much we can do. We can offer seats for purchase if available. If not, we sadly must turn people away.

Today these problems occur at venues across North Texas and, indeed, the nation. Because predatory ticket sellers recognize no state boundaries, this demands federal attention. As industry leaders on the front line, we believe effective ticketing legislation must include the following:

1. Ban speculative tickets where secondary operators sell patrons tickets they don’t actually have – meaning fans may get lesser-valued tickets, different seats or none at all.
2. Ban the unauthorized use of the name of a venue, artist, song or show in website addresses (URLs). These trick consumers into thinking they’re buying from the original source.
3. Guarantee refunds for canceled events.
4. Require that tickets identify specific seats/sections so fans know the location.
5. Require all-in pricing with upfront itemization.
6. Enact enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general using civil penalties.
7. Require a General Accounting Office study to determine scope of problem.

Fortunately, our U.S. senators from Texas get it. Sen. Ted Cruz and Sen. John Cornyn have each introduced legislative proposals. Cornyn’s Fans First Act is the only legislation that includes all of the critical pieces above. Cruz’s Ticket Act is a good start but lacks key elements, as does its companion House version which lawmakers there already passed.

We urge Cruz and Cornyn to work together to include the seven items above in one bill for the Senate to approve, then add those elements to the House version during the reconciliation process.

At the end of the day, we all want exciting, live entertainment experiences. Fans want a trusted, transparent way to buy tickets. Artists and local venue operators want to sell tickets without scammers siphoning off stock or creating fakes. Passing legislation that moves the needle for deception-free ticket buying is the right first step to get us there.

Edwin Cabaniss owns the Longhorn Ballroom and Kessler Theater. Warren Tranquada is president and CEO of the AT&T Performing Arts Center

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