FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 5, 2024

Contact: Ian Eli Lee: ilee@vision360partners.com

POLIS SIGNS PRO-FAN, PRO-TRANSPARENCY LIVE EVENT TICKETING LAW MAKING COLORADO THE GOLD STANDARD FOR CONSUMER PROTECTION IN TICKETING

Denver, CO. – Today, delivering a victory for Colorado sports and music fans, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed HB24-1378 into law. The new law will improve consumer protection and transparency while combating deceptive ticketing practices in Colorado. The bipartisan bill passed overwhelmingly with support in both the Colorado House and Senate.

“Going to see your favorite artist or team should not be an exercise in frustration in Colorado or anywhere else,” said John Breyault, Vice President of Public Policy, Telecommunications, and Fraud at the National Consumers League. “Thanks to pro-consumer leaders like Governor Polis, Rep. Lindstedt, Rep. Valdez, Sen. Gardner, and Sen. Sullivan, buying a ticket to a concert or a sporting event will now be a far simpler and fairer experience for millions of Coloradans.”

"Live Nation-Ticketmaster's abusive ticketing practices have harmed Coloradans and other consumers from across the country," said Timothy Supplitt, chapter lead for the Denver New Liberals. "Coloradans should be able to see live events at any one of Colorado's fantastic venues without having to worry about hidden fees. The Denver New Liberals are proud to have championed HB24-1378 with support from the Center for New Liberalism, and we're excited to see Governor Polis sign it today."

"We applaud Colorado for taking these important steps to protect consumers and put fans closer to the front of the line,” said Consumer Federation of California Executive Director Robert Herrell. “With this law Colorado has jumped in front of California and many other states. We congratulate Governor Polis and the legislative champions for their efforts."

“Governor Polis has made Colorado the gold standard for consumer protection in ticketing, and sports fans throughout the Centennial State thank him for his leadership over the last two sessions. We also thank Representative Lindstedt, Representative Valdez, Senator Sullivan, and Senator Gardner for being such stalwart champions of consumers during the process," said Brian Hess, Executive Director of the Sports Fans Coalition. "HB 1378 accomplishes many things for consumers, including all-in pricing, bans on deceptive websites, and refund guarantees for canceled shows. These new protections coupled with Colorado's existing protections on transferability make Colorado the example to look toward for every other state in the country."

“Colorado is once again leading the way in the fight for fans, it’s the new gold standard for consumer protection” said Protect Ticket Rights Advocacy Director Brian Berry. “Governor Polis and leaders in the Colorado General Assembly are paving the path for other states to follow. This law holds all ticket sellers to the same standard while delivering fans the transparency they deserve when shopping for tickets to their favorite game or show. We appreciate the commitment that they have shown to ensuring fans have a fair experience.”

This new law will build upon Colorado’s current law protecting the rights of fans to freely use, sell, or transfer their purchased tickets, which helps to provide Colorado fans with other sources from which to buy tickets other than the venue box office or its contracted “primary ticketer.” Polling conducted in May 2023 found that 81% of Coloradans support this current law, agreeing that “someone who has purchased a ticket to a concert or sporting event should be able to sell or give away their purchased ticket however they wish.” Further, 62% said that venue box offices, teams, artists, and primary ticketing companies like Ticketmaster should not be able to prevent consumers from buying tickets through secondary resale marketplaces like StubHub, Seak Geek, or Vivid Seats.  

HB24-1378 will:

• Prohibit hidden fees by instituting all-in, up-front price transparency

• Ban any increase of the ticket price after a consumer selects the ticket for purchase

• Guarantee refunds for canceled shows

• Ban the use of deceptive websites which impersonate a venue or seller  

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The Ticket Buyer Bill of Rights Coalition was founded in February 2023 by leading consumer and fan advocacy organizations to offer a framework for ticketing legislation that can improve the market that serves millions of fans each year. The Bill of Rights features five pillars; The Right to Transferability, The Right to Transparency, The Right to Set the Price, The Right to a Fair Marketplace and The Right to Recourse. The Ticket Buyer’s Bill of Rights has been endorsed by The Denver Chapter of the Center for New Liberalism, National Consumers League, Consumer Federation of America, Consumer Action, Consumer Federation of California, National Association of Consumer Advocates, Public Knowledge, Sports Fans Coalition, Virginia Citizen Consumer Council, Protect Ticket Rights, and Fan Freedom. Learn more at www.ticketbuyerbillofrights.org.