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PHOENIX — A bill intended to stop bots from disrupting online ticket sales for popular Arizona events has been signed into law by Gov. Katie Hobbs.
Arizona House Bill 2040 prohibits a person from using an automated software program to purchase an excess amount of event tickets or circumvent waiting periods and presale codes often used to control the volume of online ticket sales.
The legislation additionally bans someone from using multiple IP addresses or email addresses to buy a bulk of tickets beyond the posted limit for an online ticket sale.
Sometimes referred to as the “Taylor Swift” bill –– in reference to the ticketing fiasco that occurred in 2022 for the musician’s Eras tour — the legislation authorizes the Arizona Attorney General’s Office to investigate these types of practices as a form of consumer fraud.
The meltdown that occurred once tickets for Swift’s tour went on sale resulted in fans being forced to wait several hours to buy tickets. Some fans responded by filing a lawsuit against Ticketmaster.
RELATED: Taylor Swift fans sue Ticketmaster ahead of kickoff of new tour in Glendale
Ticketmaster issued an apology and blamed the debacle on a flood of scalper bots attempting to snatch up concert tickets.
The governor signed HB 2040 this week after it passed through the Arizona Legislature with bipartisan support.
Hobbs also signed House Bill 2194, which sets restrictions on how ticket resellers can conduct transactions in Arizona.
Live Nation Entertainment issued the following statement in response to the governor’s action:
“With today’s bill signing by Governor Hobbs, Arizona joins a growing list of states banning speculative ticketing — the anti-consumer practice of resellers listing fake tickets to lure fans into paying exorbitant prices. We applaud Representatives Cook and Ortiz for leading this effort to protect fans in Arizona and allow them to shop with more confidence when purchasing tickets for their favorite team or artist. We were proud to stand with a coalition of local leaders, artists, venues, and others in advocating for this important consumer reform.”
RELATED: Gov. Hobbs signs bill ‘closing loopholes’ in care for Arizona’s dementia patients
How big is Maricopa County?
Maricopa County is the United States’ 4th largest county in terms of population with 4,485,414 people, according to the 2020 Census.
The county contains around 63% of Arizona’s population and is 9,224 square miles. That makes the county larger than seven U.S. states (Rhode Island, Delaware, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey, Massachusetts and New Hampshire).
One of the largest park systems in the nation is also located in Maricopa County. The county has an estimated 120,000 acres of open space parks that includes hundreds of miles of trails, nature centers and campgrounds.
The county’s seat is located in Phoenix, which is also the state capital and the census-designated 5th most populous city in the United States.
The county was named after the Maricopa, or Piipaash, Native American Tribe.
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