Ticket resellers may soon have to disclose the face value of tickets and require every seller and reseller to display "all-in pricing" of the initial listing as part of legislation approved this week by New York lawmakers. 

The measure is meant to boost transparency for online ticket retailers in the state following investigations conducted last year by state Sen. James Skoufis' committee. 

At the same time, the bill would increase penalties for the use of "bots," or automated software, to purchase tickets. Resellers would also be banned from charging for tickets that had initially been offered for free. Delivery fees would be eliminated for tickets that are delivered electronically or printed by the buyer. 

“This has been a long, uphill battle, but we got the job done on behalf of consumers,” Skoufis said. “Concertgoers, theater lovers, and sports fans deserve to know exactly how much these sellers are charging when they decide to part with their hard-earned dollars. I’ve heard countless stories from constituents about the exorbitant, deceitful fees charged by mega retailers like Ticketmaster or Stubhub, and had first-hand experiences myself, and these reforms will help New Yorkers enjoy a night out or a big playoff game without much of the ticket buying heartache.” 

The bill will next go to Gov. Kathy Hochul's desk for her consideration. 

“Hidden fees can increase the price of an event ticket by as much as 30 to 40 percent,” said Chuck Bell, the advocacy programs director for Consumer Reports. “These common sense consumer protections for ticket buyers are long overdue and will help ensure pricing is fair and transparent.  We urge Governor Hochul to sign this measure into law so ticket sellers can no longer hide extra fees until the very end of the ticket buying process.”