On January 10, 2025, The Federal Trade Commission published a final trade regulation rule in the Federal Register entitled “Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees” (“the Rule”). (90 Fed. Reg. 2066 (Jan. 10, 2025)) The Rule, which will take effect on May 12, 2025, prohibits a business that sells or offers live-event tickets from offering, displaying or advertising the price of a live-event ticket without clearly and conspicuously disclosing the maximum total price that a consumer must pay for the live-event ticket, inclusive of all fees or charges that the consumer must pay for any mandatory good or service sold as part of the purchase of the ticket. The seller of live-event tickets is authorized to exclude from the total price required to be disclosed for the live-event ticket any governmental charges, shipping charges and charges for optional goods or services that the consumer may purchase as a part of the same transaction. (16 C.F.R. § 464.1, 464.2; 90 Fed. Reg. 2066, 2166-67 (Jan. 10, 2025)) The Rule prescribes particular means by which a disclosure must be “clearly and conspicuously” made to a consumer. (16 C.F.R. § 464.1; 90 Fed. Reg. 2066, 2167 (Jan. 10, 2025)) Additionally, the Rule prohibits a seller of live-event tickets from misrepresenting any fee or charge. (16 C.F.R. § 464.3; 90 Fed. Reg. 2066, 2167 (Jan. 10, 2025)) Finally, the Rule provides that state law or regulation may provide consumers with protection that is greater than, or at least not inconsistent with, the protections for consumers prescribed by the Rule. (16 C.F.R. § 464.4; 90 Fed. Reg. 2066, 2167 (Jan. 10, 2025)) Existing state law prohibits a reseller, a secondary ticket exchange or an affiliate of a reseller or secondary ticket exchange from reselling a ticket for a live entertainment event without disclosing to the purchaser the total amount that the purchaser will be charged for the ticket. (NRS 598.39795) Section 12 of this bill repeals this provision. Instead, section 4 of this bill prescribes certain requirements for businesses that sell tickets to live entertainment events, which are equivalent to the requirements established in the Rule. Specifically, section 4 prohibits a ticket provider from offering, displaying or advertising any price of a ticket for a live entertainment event unless the ticket provider clearly and conspicuously discloses the total price of the ticket. Section 4 also requires certain information to be clearly and conspicuously disclosed to a consumer before the consumer agrees to purchases a ticket from the ticket provider. Section 4 prescribes certain means by which a ticket provider must clearly and conspicuously make such disclosures to consumers, which are identical to those means prescribed in the Rule. Section 4 also prohibits a ticket provider from misrepresenting any fee or charge. Section 5 of this bill requires a ticket provider to provide a refund of the full amount a purchaser paid to the ticket provider for a ticket to a live entertainment event, including all applicable fees and governmental charges, if the event to which the ticket pertains is cancelled. Section 5 requires that the refund be provided to the purchaser not more than 30 days after the sponsor of the event notifies the public that the live entertainment event is cancelled. Existing law prohibits certain other practices and acts relating to the sale and resale of tickets for live entertainment events. (NRS 598.397-598.3984) Existing law entitles a person who is injured by a violation of such provisions to bring a civil action against the reseller, secondary ticket exchange or affiliate of the reseller or secondary ticket exchange that committed the violation. Existing law prescribes certain statutory awards, in addition to other damages, that a court may award a prevailing plaintiff based on the number of violations previously committed by the violator. (NRS 598.3982) Section 9 of this bill: (1) authorizes a person injured by a violation of section 4 or 5 to bring such civil action against the ticket provider that committed the violation; and (2) increases the statutory amounts that may be awarded to a plaintiff injured by a violation of any provision relating to the sale or resale of tickets for live entertainment events. Section 8 of this bill requires the Bureau of Consumer Protection in the Office of the Attorney General to accept reports of violations of sections 4 and 5 using the mechanisms by which the Bureau receives reports of violations of other provisions relating to the sale and resale of tickets for live entertainment events. (NRS 598.3981) Sections 10 and 11 of this bill provide that a willful violation of section 4 or 5 is punishable by certain criminal penalties, which are currently applicable to willful violations of other provisions relating to the sale or resale of tickets for live entertainment events. (NRS 598.3983, 598.3984) Existing law defines various activities involving businesses and occupations that constitute deceptive trade practices. (NRS 598.0915-598.0925) If a person engages in a deceptive trade practice, the person may be subject to the imposition of certain restraints by injunction and civil and criminal penalties. (NRS 598.0979, 598.0985, 598.0999) Existing law makes a knowing violation of provisions relating to the sale and resale of tickets for live entertainment events a deceptive trade practice. (NRS 598.09223) Section 6 of this bill makes a knowing violation of section 4 or 5 a deceptive trade practice, thereby subjecting a violator of those sections to additional civil and criminal penalties. Sections 2 and 3 of this bill define certain terms, and section 7 of this bill establishes the applicability of those definitions.

Statutes affected:
As Introduced: 598.09223, 598.397, 598.3981, 598.3982, 598.3983, 598.3984, 598.39795
BDR: 598.09223, 598.397, 598.3981, 598.3982, 598.3983, 598.3984, 598.39795