The BOTS Act makes it unlawful to get around the security or purchase limits a ticket issuer uses online, and to sell tickets bought that way. Using AI to read listings, compare marketplaces and price tickets you already hold is a different activity. This page explains the law in plain words; it is not legal advice.
What the law says
The Better Online Ticket Sales Act of 2016 is codified at 15 U.S.C. 45c. It makes two things unlawful:
- Circumventing a security measure, access control system or other technological control that a ticket issuer uses on its website or online service to enforce posted ticket purchase limits, or to keep its posted online ordering rules intact.
- Selling or offering a ticket obtained that way, when the seller took part in it, could control it, or knew or should have known the ticket was obtained that way.
The Federal Trade Commission enforces it as an unfair or deceptive practice, and state attorneys general can sue in federal court. The law exempts security research and tools built to investigate violations.
How the FTC has used it
- January 2021: the FTC and the Department of Justice brought the first BOTS Act cases, against three New York ticket resellers. The orders totaled more than $31 million, partly suspended, with $3.7 million in civil penalties to pay.
- August 18, 2025: the FTC sued a Maryland reseller and its officers, alleging they used thousands of accounts, card numbers and proxy addresses to get past purchase limits and buy at least 379,776 tickets. The company denies using bots. In April 2026 the judge let the case go ahead, ruling that the law applies to any person, not only to bots.
- July 27, 2026: the FTC settled with a Georgia ticket broker it says used hundreds of accounts in made-up names, virtual card numbers, proxy services and multi-session browsers to get past ticket limits at more than 2,400 events. The proposed order bans those tactics and sets more than $10.7 million in civil penalties, suspended after a $300,000 payment.
What an AI assistant may do for a seller
- Read section prices and tickets listed, with price my tickets in one section.
- Compare floors across marketplaces, with lowest price on each marketplace.
- Price a sheet of tickets you already hold, and draft listings you post yourself.
- Watch an event and alert you to a price move, with watch a section's price.
None of these touch a ticket issuer's purchase controls.
Where an agent crosses the line
The risk starts when an agent buys. An AI browser agent that holds your place in line, solves or skips a CAPTCHA, rotates accounts or cards, or splits orders to beat a ticket limit is doing what the law describes. Ticket sites run verification and per-account limits to stop exactly that, and an agent that trips them gets flagged as a bot.
A short test
Ask one question of any automation: does it change how you buy tickets from the issuer? If it only reads market data or prices tickets you already hold, it sits outside the purchase controls the BOTS Act protects. If it buys, check the issuer's rules and talk to a lawyer before you run it.
Sources
- 15 U.S.C. 45c, the BOTS Act (Cornell Legal Information Institute)
- FTC: first cases under the BOTS Act, January 22, 2021
- FTC case page: the suit against a Maryland reseller, filed August 18, 2025
- FTC: action against a ticket broker for bypassing purchase limits, July 27, 2026
Questions
Is it illegal to bot tickets?
Under the BOTS Act, it is unlawful to get around the security measures or access controls a ticket issuer uses online to enforce posted purchase limits or ordering rules, and to sell tickets you got that way. The law reaches people as well as software: in April 2026 a federal judge ruled that it applies to any person, not only to bots. The FTC and state attorneys general enforce it.
Does the BOTS Act cover using AI to price tickets?
The law targets getting around a ticket issuer’s purchase controls. Reading listings and pricing tickets you already hold do not touch those controls. This is general information, not legal advice.
Who enforces the BOTS Act?
The Federal Trade Commission treats a violation as an unfair or deceptive practice under the FTC Act. State attorneys general can also sue in federal court after notifying the FTC.
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