New York has long regulated the sale of tickets to places of entertainment in the state through Article 25 of the New York Arts and Cultural Affairs Law (ACAL). This past July, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed Senate Bill 8501-B, which amends and extends the current provisions of ACAL Article 25 until June 30, 2021. This article discusses the recent amendments, the majority of which become effective on Dec. 28, 2018. As discussed below, many of these reforms appear to be in direct response to concerns expressed in 2016 by the New York Attorney General (NYAG), yet the changes do not appear to be as sweeping as the NYAG had sought. Nor do they address any of ACAL’s anti-resale restrictions that make New York one of the most ticket-broker friendly states in the United States.

ACAL Background

For years, ACAL restricted the resale market, going so far as to cap the price of resold tickets at $2 above face value. In 2007, with the Internet popularizing ticket resale and bringing it out of the shadows, so to speak, New York substantially amended ACAL in order to facilitate a more expansive resale market—including the removal of the $2 resale price cap. 2007 N.Y. Laws 2738.