Hi!
A quick one: I had many people ask me about Donald Trump’s executive order on ticketing.
This executive order is a glorified tweet.
It is the “I will bring prices down on day one” but for tickets.
What does it say?
- Enforce the BOTS Act.
- Make sure brokers are paying taxes.
- Ensure price transparency.
- Make sure there is no anti-competitive activity in the secondary market.
What does that mean?
The BOTS Act was signed into law in 2016.
The first case brought using the BOTS Act was in 2021.
That was the only time it was used.
The actions of Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and the DOGE kids are cutting FTC staff including consumer protection and antitrust enforcement.
So, unless BOTS enforcement is a priority…I’m not sure this statement means much.
Make sure brokers are paying their taxes.
I did an internet search of “tax fraud ticket brokers” and found that the most recent examples of fraud and ticket brokers seem to be around 2020 & 2021.
At my house, we pay a lot of taxes.
I’m all for cutting down on tax fraud.
But, again, actions:
- DOGE has cut 38% of the IRS employees that go after ultrawealthy folks. That would seem to be a group that would be helpful in tracking down fraud in the secondary market…especially when you see that each hour these folks spend on audits brings back $13,000 in underpaid tax revenue.
- 50 IT people have been laid off.
If you are looking for fraud and to reclaim revenue, you’d see actions consistent with that.
Price Transparency:
That’s already coming.
The FTC rule on “all-in” pricing is set to go into effect in May.
That’s an action, but one that was in motion months before this order was signed.
Make sure that anti-competitive activity isn’t happening in the secondary market.
I feel the secondary market is often the only place competition is happening in the world of tickets.
The biggest thing that could happen to ensure that there is a crackdown on anti-competitive behavior in the secondary market is to continue antitrust enforcement.
Reports say dozens of antitrust enforcement staff have been laid off already.
So…again, just like with strategy, look at the actions.
Are they consistent with the stated strategy?
Let me know.
Dave
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