President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at curbing online ticket scalping, introducing stricter oversight and transparency measures in the live event marketplace.
The signing ceremony in the Oval Office on Monday featured singer Kid Rock, who arrived in a bold, patriotic-themed outfit. A vocal Republican supporter, Rock expressed concerns over ticket scalpers using automated bots to buy up tickets at face value and resell them at exorbitant prices.
“Anyone who’s bought a concert ticket in the past decade, maybe 20 years, no matter what your politics, knows it’s a conundrum,” Rock stated. “You buy a ticket for $100, by the time you check out it’s $170. But more importantly, these bots, they come in and get all the good tickets to your favorite shows you want to go to. Then they’re re-listed immediately for sometimes a 500 percent markup. I’d love down the road if there’d be legislation to put a cap on the resale tickets.”
The executive order directs Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Attorney General Pam Bondi to oversee secondary ticket vendors’ tax compliance. Meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) will be tasked with enforcing fair competition in the entertainment industry.
The crackdown includes three key measures:
- Bot Ban Enforcement: The DOJ and FTC will intensify efforts to prevent the use of software that purchases tickets in bulk.
- Price Transparency: Ticket vendors must display total prices—including fees and surcharges—upfront at the time of purchase.
- Tax Compliance Audits: The Treasury Department and DOJ will monitor resellers to ensure adherence to anti-scalping laws.
Ticket resale practices have come under increased scrutiny, particularly after the DOJ and several state attorneys general launched an antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation Entertainment and its subsidiary, Ticketmaster, over allegations of monopolizing the market at the expense of both artists and fans.
Live Nation itself welcomed Trump’s initiative. “Scalpers and bots prevent fans from getting tickets at the prices artists set, and we thank President Trump for taking them head-on,” the company said in a statement. “We support any meaningful resale reforms — including more enforcement of the BOTS act, caps on resale prices, and more.”
StubHub, the leading ticket resale platform in the U.S., also praised the executive order. “We welcome more transparency, safety, and competition to improve the industry for fans and further protect them from a live entertainment monopoly,” a company spokesperson said.
The move follows months of backlash over Ticketmaster’s handling of sales for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, which left millions of fans unable to secure tickets due to system failures, automated bots, and hidden fees—forcing many to pay thousands of dollars on resale platforms. A similar controversy erupted in the U.K. over the highly anticipated Oasis reunion tour.
White House officials emphasized that the executive order aligns with Trump’s campaign pledge to crack down on ticket price gouging. “Consumers should not fall victim to unjustified markups and hidden fees,” the administration stated in an official release.
