CHAPTER 21. Ticket Sellers [22500 - 22511]
( Chapter 21 added by Stats. 1986, Ch. 378, Sec. 1. )
(a) A ticket seller shall have a permanent business address from which tickets may only be sold and that address shall be included in any advertisement or solicitation, and shall be duly licensed as may be required by any local jurisdiction.
(b) A violation of this section shall constitute a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding six months, or by fine not exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), or by both.
(c) Any person who engages, has engaged, or proposes to engage in a violation of this section shall be liable for a civil penalty not to exceed two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) for each violation, which may be assessed and recovered in a civil action brought in the name of the people of the State of California by the Attorney General, or a district attorney, or a city attorney of a city having a population in excess of 750,000, and, with the consent of the district attorney, by a city prosecutor in any city, county, or city and county having a full-time prosecutor in any court of competent jurisdiction. Payment of the civil penalty shall be made pursuant to the provisions of subdivision (b) of Section 17206. For the purposes of this section, each ticket sold or offered for sale in violation of this section shall constitute a separate violation. The remedies provided by this section are cumulative to each other and to the remedies or penalties available under all other laws of this state.
(Amended by Stats. 1994, Ch. 1132, Sec. 1. Effective September 30, 1994.)
A ticket seller shall maintain records of ticket sales, deposits, and refunds.
(Added by Stats. 1986, Ch. 378, Sec. 1.)
A ticket seller shall, prior to sale, disclose to the purchaser by means of description or a map the location of the seat or seats represented by the ticket or tickets.
(Added by Stats. 1986, Ch. 378, Sec. 1.)
It shall be unlawful for a ticket seller to contract for the sale of tickets or accept consideration for payment in full or for a deposit for the sale of tickets unless the ticket seller meets one or more of the following requirements:
(a) The ticket seller has the ticket in his or her possession.
(b) The ticket seller has a written contract to obtain the offered ticket at a certain price from a person in possession of the ticket or from a person who has a contractual right to obtain the ticket from the primary contractor.
(c) The ticket seller informs the purchaser orally at the time of the contract or receipt of consideration, whichever is earlier, and in writing within two business days, that the seller does not have possession of the tickets, has no contract to obtain the offered ticket at a certain price from a person in possession of the ticket or from a person who has a contractual right to obtain the ticket from the primary contractor, and may not be able to supply the ticket at the contracted price or range of prices.
Nothing in this section shall prohibit a ticket seller from accepting a deposit from a prospective purchaser as part of an agreement that the ticket seller will make best efforts to obtain a ticket at a specified price or price range and within a specified time, provided that the ticket seller informs the purchaser orally at the time of the contract or receipt of consideration, whichever is earlier, and in writing within two days, of the terms of the deposit agreement, and includes in the oral and written notice the disclosures otherwise required by this section.
(Added by Stats. 1994, Ch. 1132, Sec. 2. Effective September 30, 1994.)
It shall be unlawful for a ticket seller to represent that he or she can deliver or cause to be delivered a ticket at a specific price or within a specific price range and to fail to deliver within a reasonable time or by a contracted time the tickets at or below the price stated or within the range of prices stated.
(Added by Stats. 1994, Ch. 1132, Sec. 3. Effective September 30, 1994.)
In addition to other remedies, a ticket seller who violates Section 22502.1 or 22502.2 and fails to supply a ticket at or below a contracted price or within a contracted price range shall be civilly liable to the ticket purchaser for two times the contracted price of the ticket, in addition to any sum expended by the purchaser in nonrefundable expenses for attending or attempting to attend the event in good faith reliance on seat or space availability, and reasonable attorney’s fees and court costs.
(Added by Stats. 1994, Ch. 1132, Sec. 4. Effective September 30, 1994.)
A ticket seller, as used in this chapter, means any person who for compensation, commission, or otherwise sells admission tickets to sporting, musical, theatre, or any other entertainment event.
(Added by Stats. 1986, Ch. 378, Sec. 1.)
This chapter does not apply to any primary contractor or seller of tickets for the primary contractor operating under a written contract with the primary contractor.
“Primary contractor” means the person or organization who is responsible for the event for which tickets are being sold.
(Added by Stats. 1986, Ch. 378, Sec. 1.)
This chapter does not apply to an officially appointed agent of an air carrier, ocean carrier or motor coach carrier who purchases or sells tickets in conjunction with a tour package accomplished through the primary event promoter or his or her agent by written agreement.
(Added by Stats. 1986, Ch. 378, Sec. 1.)
This chapter does not apply to any person who sells six tickets or less to any one single event, provided the tickets are sold off the premises where the event is to take place, including, but not limited to, designated parking areas and points of entry to the event.
(Added by Stats. 1986, Ch. 378, Sec. 1.)
A violation of any provision of this chapter shall constitute a misdemeanor.
(Added by Stats. 1986, Ch. 378, Sec. 1.)
(a) Notwithstanding Section 22503.5, 22503.6, 22504, or 22511, it shall be unlawful for a person to intentionally use or sell software or services to circumvent a security measure, access control system, or other control or measure that is used to ensure an equitable ticket buying process for event attendees.
(b) For purposes of this section:
(1) ”Event attendee” means a person who purchases one or more tickets with the intent to attend the event for which the ticket or tickets are purchased. An event attendee does not include a ticket seller.
(2) “A control or measure that is used to ensure an equitable ticket buying process” includes limits on the number of tickets that a person can purchase.
(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 105, Sec. 1. (AB 1032) Effective January 1, 2020.)
Any partial or full deposit received by a ticket seller on a future event for which tickets are not available shall be refundable except for a service charge of not more than 10 percent until tickets for the event are actually available.
(Added by Stats. 1986, Ch. 378, Sec. 1.)
(a) The ticket price of an event which is canceled shall be fully refunded to the purchaser by the ticket seller within 30 calendar days of the cancellation.
(b) The ticket price of an event which is postponed, rescheduled, or replaced with another event at the same date and time, shall be fully refunded
to the purchaser by the ticket seller upon request within 30 calendar days of the refund request.
(c) For purposes of this section, a rescheduled event includes a canceled occurrence of a recurring event for which the purchaser is offered the opportunity to attend another, materially identical occurrence of the same event at a different date or time.
(d) A local jurisdiction may require a ticket seller to provide a bond of not more than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) to provide for any refunds that may be required by this section.
(Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 180, Sec. 1. (AB 1556) Effective January 1, 2022.)
A ticket seller shall disclose that a service charge is imposed by the ticket seller and is added to the actual ticket price by the seller in any advertisement or promotion for any event by the ticket seller.
(Added by Stats. 1986, Ch. 378, Sec. 1.)
Any ticket seller who includes tickets to an event in conjunction with the sale of a tour or event package, including, among other things, transportation, meals, lodging, or beverages, shall disclose in any advertisements or promotional materials the price charged or allotted for the tickets.
(Added by Stats. 1986, Ch. 378, Sec. 1.)
Nothing in this chapter prohibits any local agency from imposing any local fees or taxes.
(Added by Stats. 1986, Ch. 378, Sec. 1.)
This chapter does not apply to any nonprofit charitable tax-exempt organization selling tickets to an event sponsored by the organization.
(Added by Stats. 1986, Ch. 378, Sec. 1.)