HARRISBURG, PA — State Representatives Mary Isaacson, D-Phila., and Thomas Mehaffie, R-Dauphin, have announced plans to introduce bipartisan legislation aimed at limiting excessive fees imposed by ticket resale platforms, a move they argue would alleviate financial burdens on eventgoers.
The proposed legislation seeks to cap extra fees at 5% for both buyers and sellers engaging with ticket resellers, allowing companies to maintain profitability while ensuring fairer pricing for consumers. According to the lawmakers, these fees can currently reach as high as 55% of a ticket’s base cost, rendering some events unattainable for everyday Pennsylvanians.
Rep. Isaacson highlighted recent examples of exorbitant fees during ticket sales for the upcoming Super Bowl, featuring the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs. She pointed out that some tickets carried additional charges nearing $3,000, pricing many fans out of the opportunity to watch the game live.
“These extremely high and arbitrary fees cause too many hardworking Pennsylvanians to be priced out of event tickets purchased through resellers,” Isaacson stated. The representative emphasized the importance of this issue in a sports-loving city like Philadelphia, where team spirit runs high during significant events.
Rep. Mehaffie echoed the sentiment, advocating for reasonable limitations on the fees electronic platforms can charge for enabling ticket transactions. He noted that while resellers perform a valuable service, the current lack of regulation allows intermediaries to levy burdensome fees on consumers and sellers alike.
The legislation, if passed, seeks to strike a balance between consumer protection and the operational needs of ticket resale platforms. “Nobody is saying hardworking people can’t buy and sell tickets to events,” said Mehaffie, “but we are saying there needs to be a reasonable limit on the fees an electronic middleman charges the buyers and sellers.”
Advocates of the proposal argue that the fee caps would bolster accessibility and encourage broader consumer participation in Pennsylvania’s live entertainment and sports markets. By lowering barriers to entry, the legislation aims to ensure more residents can take part in events, strengthening community engagement while maintaining healthy commerce in the resale industry.
Looking ahead, the outcome of this proposed policy will likely depend on bipartisan support in Harrisburg, as lawmakers weigh its potential to provide relief for consumers against its broader effects on the ticket resale sector. Advocates believe this initiative could provide a blueprint for addressing similar challenges nationwide.
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