Trump Signs Order to Crack Down on Ticket Price Gouging

The FTC is ordered to prevent ‘unfair, deceptive, and anti-competitive conduct in the secondary ticketing market.’

President Donald Trump, accompanied by entertainer Kid Rock, signs an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House on March 31, 2025. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday aimed at curbing “exploitative ticket scalping” and price-gouging practices in live entertainment events.

“America’s live concert and entertainment industry is the envy of the world,” Trump stated in his order. “But it has become blighted by unscrupulous middlemen who sit at the intersection between artists and fans and impose egregious fees while providing minimal value.”

The order directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to work with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Attorney General Pam Bondi to ensure that scalpers who buy event tickets in bulk and resell them at inflated prices fully comply with the Internal Revenue Code and other applicable laws, according to a White House fact sheet.

It also instructs the FTC to “ensure price transparency at all stages of the ticket-purchase process” and to “take enforcement action” if deemed appropriate to prevent “unfair, deceptive, and anti-competitive conduct in the secondary ticketing market.”

The order specifically emphasized enforcing the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act, which grants the FTC authority to take action against scalpers who use bots to buy tickets.

Singer-songwriter Kid Rock, whom Trump described as “a good friend” for many years, was also present during the signing in the Oval Office.

Kid Rock, whose real name is Robert James Ritchie, called the move “a great first step” in tackling ticket scalping and thanked Trump for making it happen “at lightning speed.”

He also voiced hope for the passing of legislation that would cap the price of resale tickets.

“Anyone who’s bought a concert ticket in the last decade, maybe 20 years, no matter what your politics are, knows it is a conundrum,” the musician said at the event.

“You buy a ticket for $100. By the time you check out, it’s $170. You don’t know what you’ve been charged for, but more importantly, these bots you know, they come in, they get all the good tickets to your favorite shows you want to go to, and then they’re re-listed immediately for sometimes 400 or 500 percent markup,” he added.

Trump stated in his order that ticket scalpers use bots and other means to purchase large quantities of tickets and resell them at “an enormous markup” in the secondary market. Some fans paid up to 70 times the face value to get a ticket to see their favorite artists, according to the order.

America’s live concert and entertainment industry generates a total nationwide economic impact of $132.6 billion and supports 913,000 jobs, according to the fact sheet.

Ticketing giant Live Nation said it supports the order and “any meaningful resale reforms,” including enforcing the BOTS Act and implementing caps on resale prices.

“Scalpers and bots prevent fans from getting tickets at the prices artists set, and we thank President Trump for taking them head-on,” Live Nation said in a statement.

In May 2024, the Department of Justice, along with 30 state and district attorneys general, filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation and its subsidiary, Ticketmaster, accusing the companies of monopolization that stifles competition in the live entertainment industry.