Combating Unfair Practices in the Live Entertainment Market

This executive order directs the FTC, Attorney General, and Treasury Secretary to combat unfair practices in live entertainment ticketing, including bot-driven scalping, hidden fees, and secondary market price-gouging. It mandates enforcement of existing competition and consumer protection laws, potential new regulations on price transparency, and a joint report within 180 days on actions taken and any needed legislative recommendations.

Federal Register Open PDF 90 FR 14699

Impact dates

Sep 27, 2025
Joint report from Treasury Secretary, Attorney General, and FTC Chairman on implementation actions and legislative/regulatory recommendations

Market exposure

Policy exposure mapping — not investment advice. Illustrative public companies are incomplete and not recommendations.

Sectors

Technology & software Other industrial

Mechanisms

LicensingProcurement

Role pressure

AdverseDownstream manufacturer — Ticketing platforms and secondary market operators face heightened regulatory scrutiny, potential transparency mandates, and enforcement actions targeting fee structures and pricing practices
UncertainImporter — Bot operators and offshore scalping entities face BOTS Act enforcement and potential tax compliance actions, though cross-border enforcement effectiveness unclear

Geographies

Illustrative public companies

Curated watchlist matches by sector/role — incomplete; not a recommendation.

AAPLAppleNVDANVIDIA

Confidence: medium · Policy alerts

Key directives

FTC to rigorously enforce BOTS Act (15 U.S.C. 45c)
FTC to collaborate with State Attorneys General on BOTS Act enforcement
FTC to propose regulations if necessary for price transparency across primary and secondary markets
FTC to evaluate and take enforcement action against unfair/deceptive/anti-competitive conduct in secondary ticketing market
Attorney General and FTC to ensure competition laws enforced against venues and ticketing agents
Treasury Secretary and Attorney General to ensure ticket scalper compliance with Internal Revenue Code
Joint report due within 180 days to Assistant to President for Economic Policy and OMB Director

Who is ordered

Timeline

Immediate

FTC directed to enforce BOTS Act and collaborate with state officials
Attorney General and FTC directed to enforce competition laws in ticketing

Near term (90d)

FTC may propose regulations on price transparency
FTC to evaluate enforcement actions against secondary market misconduct
Treasury and DOJ to review scalper tax compliance

Long term

Joint report due to White House and OMB by late September 2025
Potential recommendations for new legislation or regulations

Risks & tensions

Enforcement scope is broad and discretionary ('appropriate action,' 'if appropriate,' 'if necessary') creating uncertainty about concrete outcomes
Order does not create legally enforceable rights, limiting direct consumer recourse
Potential tension between federal and state enforcement coordination
Secondary market definition and scope of 'price transparency' regulations left undefined