Reselling tickets is a relatively large market, especially in Minnesota. Not only does our state have a lot of sports teams, but there is a clear and present performance and concert environment. This means that ticket resellers like Stub Hub, SeatGeek, and Ticketmaster have a large presence here. With a new bill moving through the legislature, that could change.

Democrat Representative Kelly Moller first introduced her bill (HF 1989) to regulate ticket resellers in 2023. This year, it appears to be getting more traction – passing through the house on a vote of 112-18. In Moller’s address to the Minnesota House, she states that she spoke with many sports teams across the state about to how to address issues with “fees” and “scalpers.”

Here’s what Moller’s bill would accomplish. 

• Prohibit buying tickets on behalf of another person.
• Mandate disclosures on existing reseller websites.
• Prohibit large amounts of tickets from being purchased, regulated by the Department of Commerce.
• Heavily regulate resale values for tickets.

Nobody likes buying marked up tickets, especially for popular concerts or teams. Moller repeatedly mentioned her love for Taylor Swift’s music on the House floor. However, this is not a reason to regulate the resale business out of existence.

In a free market system, sales are driven by demand. If there is a higher demand for tickets, there will be a higher price for those same tickets. Imagine this scenario: You buy tickets to a concert for your whole family – but later find out you cannot go – you may have a harder time reselling those tickets through a traditional vendor – God forbid you hope to make some money off of the sale.

Legislators in St. Paul are constantly in search of problems for their big government solution. More regulations will not help the ticket industry, but will instead make it much worse.

[PAID ADVERTISEMENT]