For five years, New York lawmakers have stood up to big-ticket sellers, billionaire team owners, and millionaire artists and passed legislation that gave New York consumers the choice of receiving a transferable ticket.

Today, that right is in jeopardy.  The New York legislature has the opportunity to continue to protect the rights of consumers by extending this law for another year and some seem more interested in doing the bidding of the billionaires and millionaires and not worrying about the rights of average New Yorkers and small businesses throughout the state.

Restricted ticketing is used by Ticketmaster the artists, promoters and venues it does business with to restrict what fans do with their tickets after purchase. Restricted tickets require the original purchaser’s credit card and photo ID to gain admittance to an event and are almost totally nontransferable.

This means consumers can lose 100 percent of their money if their plans change. Plans change; people get sick, they have to work or their babysitter cancels. When tickets are non-transferable you can no longer resell them or give them away, or gift them to a school or non-profit to be auctioned off at events. You are stuck with the cost of the ticket. Sports fans with season tickets that sell a few tickets to reduce the cost of the ticket package are simply out of luck.

Bills are currently pending in the New York State Assembly (A.6976) and Senate (S.4801) which would extend this commonsense protection for another year.

Please sign our petition if you believe you have the right to give away or resell a ticket however you choose.

Let your lawmakers know they should stand up for fans, vote for Assembly Bill 6976/Senate Bill 4801 and protect consumers against Ticketmaster, billionaire team owners and millionaire artists and promoters.