New York will criminalize the use of ticket-scalping bots

Earlier this month, Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote an impassioned plea to the New York state assembly, asking them to pass a bill that would criminalize the use of ticket-scalping bots. These bots — which bypass the security of primary ticket sale sites to snatch up sometimes hundreds of tickets at once and resell them at a virtually cap-less premium — were already illegal, but using them garnered only civil penalties that often didn't cut very deeply into profits.

On Friday, the assembly voted in favor of assigning criminal penalties to the use of ticket bots. The bill they passed wasn't as strict as the one Miranda championed (which passed in the senate): rather than classifying the crime a felony, it dubs it a Class A misdemeanor, and it won't require resale sites to list what they originally paid for a ticket. Violators will pay a $1,000 fine and face a year in prison.

using ticket bots can now result in prison time

It's surely a victory for theatergoers and concert lovers, who should now have a much better chance of getting tickets to events at their original prices. In a press release, assembly member Margaret Markey said, "this legislation represents a great opportunity for both New Yorkers and people visiting New York to be able to enjoy more of what the state has to offer."

Governor Cuomo will be asked to sign the bill into law, though it won't matter for fans clamoring to see Miranda in Hamilton before he leaves the show on July 9th — those tickets are currently sitting at a $2,000 starting point across resale sites.

• ViaGizmodo
• SourceNew York State Assembly