SCHUMER PROMOTES BILL TO FINE SCALPERS

Come September, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) will take his fight against ticket scalpers to D.C. Schumer will introduce legislation to assign an investigative task force to track the owners of online bots with the aim of charging the criminals $16k for each ticket they resell.

Schumer, who has been talking up the issue for more than a year, made his latest statements with Hamilton mastermind Lin-Manuel Miranda by his side at a Manhattan press conference on Sunday.

“It’s hard to get tickets to anything, but while you’re typing in your CAPTCHA code, that bot has already got the ticket that you’re trying to get and it’s just not fair,” Miranda said. “We need to at least begin to level the playing field.”

Schumer said potential Broadway customers—basically people who want to see Hamilton and not pay a grand for a ticket—have been calling his office to complain shows and concerts are sold out within seconds of going on sale.

Bots used by ticket brokers—where he puts the blame—are not illegal. The goal of the new bill, he said, is to “put them out of business.”

“By eliminating ‘bots’ and slapping hackers with a hefty fine, we can better ensure those who want to attend shows in the future will not have to pay outrageous, unfair prices. I hope that my colleagues in Congress will pass this bipartisan legislation so that consumers have equal access to these tickets,” Schumer said.