N.Y. Arts and Cultural Affairs Law § 25.30: Operator prohibitions

* § 25.30. Operator prohibitions. 1. A ticket is a license, issued by

the operator of a place of entertainment, for admission to the place of

entertainment at the date and time specified on the ticket, subject to

the terms and conditions as specified by the operator. Notwithstanding

any other provision of law to the contrary, it shall be prohibited for

any operator of a place of entertainment, or operator's agent, to:

(a) restrict by any means the resale of any tickets included in a

subscription or season ticket package as a condition of purchase, as a

condition to retain such tickets for the duration of the subscription or

season ticket package agreement, or as a condition to retain any

contractually agreed upon rights to purchase future subscription or

season ticket packages that are otherwise conferred in the subscription

or season ticket agreement;

(b) deny access to a ticket holder who possesses a resold subscription

or season ticket to a performance based solely on the grounds that such

ticket has been resold; or

(c) employ a paperless ticketing system unless the consumer is given

an option to purchase paperless tickets that the consumer can transfer

at any price, and at any time, and without additional fees, independent

of the operator or operator's agent. Notwithstanding the foregoing, an

operator or operator's agent may employ a paperless ticketing system

that does not allow for independent transferability of paperless tickets

only if the consumer is offered an option at the time of initial sale to

purchase the same tickets in some other form that is transferrable

independent of the operator or operator's agent including, but not

limited to, paper tickets or e-tickets. The established price for any

given ticket shall be the same regardless of the form or transferability

of such ticket. The ability for a ticket to be transferred independent

of the operator or operator's agent shall not constitute a special

service for the purpose of imposing a service charge pursuant to section

25.29 of this article.

2. Additionally, nothing in this article shall be construed to

prohibit an operator of a place of entertainment from maintaining and

enforcing any policies regarding conduct or behavior at or in connection

with their venue. Further, nothing in this article shall be construed to

prohibit an operator of a place of entertainment or such operator's

agent, from restricting the resale of tickets that are offered as part

of a targeted promotion, at a discounted price, or for free, to specific

individuals or groups of individuals because of their status as, or

membership in, a specific community or group, including, but not limited

to, persons with disabilities, students, religious or civic

organizations, or persons demonstrating economic hardship; provided,

however that tickets offered promotionally to the general public shall

not be considered as tickets offered to specific individuals or groups

of individuals. Any promotional discounted or free tickets for which the

operator or operator's agent restricts resale must be clearly marked as

such. An operator shall be permitted to revoke or restrict season

tickets for reasons relating to violations of venue policies, including

but not limited to, attempts by two or more persons to gain admission to

a single event with both the cancelled tickets originally issued to a

season ticket holder and those tickets re-issued as part of a resale

transaction, and to the extent the operator may deem necessary for the

protection of the safety of patrons or to address fraud or misconduct.

3. No operator or operator's agent shall sell or convey tickets to any

secondary ticket reseller owned or controlled by the operator or

operator's agent.

4. The operator or the promoter shall determine whether a seat for

which a ticket is for sale has an obstructed view, and shall disclose

such obstruction. If the operator or promoter discloses that a seat for

which a ticket is for sale has an obstructed view, it shall be the

responsibility of the secondary ticket reseller to disclose such

obstruction upon the resale of such ticket. Such obstruction shall not

include an obstruction of view caused by a person, or persons, seated in

an adjacent seat, or seats, or occupying an aisle; or an obstruction of

view caused by an object or objects placed upon an adjacent seat or

seats, or in an aisle; or an obstruction of view that is de minimus or

transitory in nature.

5. No operator or its agent shall transfer a prospective ticket

purchaser through any means to a licensee or secondary ticket reseller

without providing a clear and conspicuous disclosure that informs the

prospective purchaser that the ticket is not being offered by the

operator or its agent, but rather by a licensee or other ticket reseller

in the secondary market.

* NB Repealed July 1, 2027