The wheels of justice turn slowly, but they do turn.

In what appears to be a response to NITO’s complaint filed last year with FTC, pressure from Senator Marsha Blackburn and President Trump’s executive order on ticket scalping, Hypebot reports that the Federal Trade Commission is going after large-scale ticket resellers for violating the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act (authored by Senators Blackburn and Richard Blumenthal). 

The enforcement action seeks tens of millions of dollars in damages and signals that federal regulators are finally prepared to tackle the systemic abuse of automated tools and deceptive practices in the live event ticketing market.

According to Hypebot, the FTC alleges that the companies used bots and a web of pseudonymous accounts to bypass ticket purchasing limits—snagging prime seats to high-demand concerts and reselling them at inflated prices on platforms like StubHub and SeatGeek. The case represents one of the largest BOTS Act enforcement efforts to date. 

“The FTC is finally doing what artists, managers, and fans have been asking for: holding scalpers accountable,” said Randy Nichols, artist manager for Underoath and advocate for ticketing reform. “This sends a message to bad actors that the days of unchecked resale are numbered.”

As Hypebot reports, this enforcement may just be the beginning. The case is likely to test the limits of the BOTS Act and could set new precedent for what counts as deceptive or unfair conduct in the ticket resale market—even when bots aren’t directly involved.

Read the full story via Hypebot: FTC Goes After Ticket Scalpers, Seeks Tens of Millions in Damages