SB3602 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB104 19385 SPS 32833 b

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
SB3602

Introduced 2/5/2026, by Sen. Steve Stadelman

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act
815 ILCS 414/1.6 new

Creates the Prohibition on Bots Purchasing Tickets Act. Provides that a person shall not use or create a bot or employ any other method to: (1) purchase tickets in excess of posted limits for an online ticket sale; (2) use multiple Internet protocol addresses, multiple purchaser accounts, or multiple email addresses to purchase tickets in excess of the posted limit for any single online ticket sale; or (3) circumvent or disable an electronic queue, waiting period, pre-sale code, or other sales volume limitation system associated with an online ticket sale. Provides for enforcement by the Attorney General. Amends the Ticket Sale and Resale Act. Prohibits a ticket resale marketplace or ticket reseller from using a name, graphic, logo, image, or other intellectual property of, or stating or implying that the ticket resale marketplace or ticket reseller is affiliated with, an artist, team, event venue, or event organizer without express written consent. Provides that an operator of a venue or ticket issuer shall disclose the number of tickets for an event that are withheld from sale any time it offers tickets for that event for sale.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning business.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Prohibition on Bots Purchasing Tickets Act.

Section 5. Definition. As used in this Act, "bot" means any automated software program that performs automatic and repetitive tasks and is designed to impersonate or replicate human activity online. "Bot" does not include auto fill or password management features built into an Internet browser or provided through separate software.

Section 10. Prohibition on automated online ticket purchasing.

(a) A person shall not use or create a bot, or employ any other method, to:

(1) purchase tickets in excess of posted limits for an online ticket sale;

(2) use multiple Internet protocol addresses, multiple purchaser accounts, or multiple email addresses to purchase tickets in excess of the posted limit for any single online ticket sale; or

(3) circumvent or disable an electronic queue, waiting period, pre-sale code, or other sales volume limitation system associated with an online ticket sale.

(b) An owner or operator of a place of entertainment that sells tickets to events, and any agent who conducts or facilitates those sales, shall report any known violation described in subsection (a) to the Attorney General within a reasonable period of time after discovery of the violation. The report shall include:

(1) a description of the violation;

(2) any available information about the individuals or entities involved in the violation; and

(3) any measures taken or planned to be taken to prevent further violations.

Section 15. Enforcement by Attorney General.

(a) The Attorney General may investigate a claim that a person violated this Act.

(b) If the Attorney General concludes that a person is violating this Act, the Attorney General may bring an action in the name of the People of the State to restrain or enjoin the person from violating this Act.

(c) In addition to bringing an action for injunctive relief under this Act, the Attorney General may seek restitution and petition a circuit court for the assessment of a civil penalty as provided by this Section.

(d) A person who knowingly violates Section 10 is liable for a civil penalty of not more than $2,000 for each violation.

(e) Every ticket transaction in which a ticket is acquired to be sold in violation of Section 10 constitutes a separate violation for purposes of assessing a civil penalty.

(f) The Attorney General may recover all reasonable costs of bringing an action under this Section, including court costs, reasonable attorney's fees, and investigation costs.

Section 90. The Ticket Sale and Resale Act is amended by adding Section 1.6 as follows:

(815 ILCS 414/1.6 new)

Sec. 1.6. Consumer protections for ticket sales.

(a) As used in this Section:

"Operator" means a person that owns, operates, or controls a place of entertainment or that promotes or produces entertainment and that sells a ticket to an entertainment event as the first sale of the ticket.

"Ticket issuer" means any person who makes tickets available, directly or indirectly, to the general public, and may include:

(1) the operator of the venue;

(2) the sponsor or promoter of an event;

(3) a sports team participating in an event or a league whose teams are participating in an event;

(4) a theater company, musical group, or similar participant in an event; or

(5) an agent for any such person.

"Ticket resale marketplace" means a person that operates a platform or exchange for the resale of tickets between third parties or between the ticket resale marketplace and a third party. "Ticket resale marketplace" includes a ticket issuer only to the extent the ticket issuer is acting to facilitate the resale of tickets between third parties or between the ticket issuer, acting as a ticket resale marketplace, and a third party.

"Ticket reseller" means a person engaged in the resale of tickets.

"URL" means a uniform resource locator for a website on the Internet.

(b) A ticket resale marketplace or ticket reseller shall not:

(1) use a name, graphic, logo, image, or other intellectual property of an artist, team, event venue, or event organizer, including any proprietary resemblance, in its promotional materials, social media promotions, paid advertising, or URLs, in a manner that could reasonably be expected to mislead a consumer as to the identity of the seller when buying a ticket, unless it has the express written consent of the artist, team, event venue, or event organizer; or

(2) state or imply that the ticket resale marketplace, ticket reseller, or its website is affiliated with or endorsed by an artist, team, event venue, or event organizer, including by using words like "official" in promotional materials, social media promotions, search engine optimization or monetization, paid advertising, or URLs, unless it has the express written consent of the artist, team, event venue, or event organizer.

(c) An operator or ticket issuer shall disclose the number of tickets for an event that are withheld from sale any time it offers tickets for that event for sale.