HB1650

House Bill 1650 creates the 'Event Ticketing and Resale Consumer Protection Act,' which sets new statewide regulations for the sale and resale of tickets to public events in Arkansas. The bill prohibits local governments from enacting ordinances that ban the resale of tickets at any price or restrict resale fees. It establishes consumer protections, including mandates for sellers to provide valid entry and a standard refund policy for cancelled events, counterfeit tickets, or non-delivery. The legislation restricts the use of deceptive domain names by platform operators to prevent impersonation of official ticket issuers. Additionally, it bans the use of software designed to circumvent security measures on ticketing platforms, such as 'bots' used to bulk-purchase tickets. The bill classifies the counterfeiting of tickets as a Class A misdemeanor, which escalates to a Class D felony for subsequent offenses. Finally, it repeals existing state statutes that previously restricted the resale of tickets above their face value.