Sen. Witkos Leads Passage of Legislation to Protect Consumers who Purchase E-Tickets

Hartford – Deputy Senate Republican President Pro Tempore Kevin Witkos (R-Canton) led the passage of a bill in the state legislature that protects consumers who purchase e-tickets by giving all consumers an option to obtain a ticket after purchase that can be transferred to another consumer.

The new law will require that event venues that sell online tickets also offer consumers the option to obtain a paper ticket or transferable e-ticket. The law strives to prevent ticketholders from being denied entry to a venue if the ticket they hold was resold to them.

“This new state law will give people choices when purchasing tickets. It also seeks to prevent against problems when entering a venue if an individual has a ticket that was resold to them,” said Sen. Witkos. “This is consumer friendly legislation that updates state law to apply to modern technology and practices of purchasing tickets online.”

A legislative working group tackling consumer protection issues recently recommended this legislative change after hearing from consumers about problems associated with not being able to transfer an e-ticket to someone after purchase. If an individual wants to give or sell a ticket they purchase to someone else, not having a hard copy or transferable e-ticket could lead to problems for a secondary customer to use said ticket in person.

Under the new state law, customers will now be able to ask for a hard copy or transferable version of an e-ticket at any event venue in the state which could be transferred to another customer at any time. Exemptions to the law are carved out for venues that hold less than 3,500 people. The law also does not apply to movie theaters or tickets sold to students for entertainment events held by the school.

PA 17-28 An Act Concerning the Sale of Entertainment Event Tickets on the Secondary Market now sits on the governor’s desk awaiting his signature before officially becoming state law.