Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has signed a suite of consumer protection bills that will require upfront disclosure of all mandatory fees, prohibit speculative ticket sales, and ban the use of automated bots to purchase tickets. The measures extend beyond live events to cover hotel reservations, food delivery orders, and other online transactions.
Three Bills Target Hidden Costs and Deceptive Sales
The first bill mandates that businesses, including ticket sellers, hotels, and food delivery services, display the total price inclusive of all mandatory fees before a consumer completes a purchase. The second bill outlaws speculative ticketing, the practice of listing tickets for sale that the seller does not yet possess. A third bill makes it illegal to use automated bots to bypass queues and acquire tickets in bulk.
The laws are scheduled to take effect in 2027. Maine enacted comparable legislation in 2025, addressing junk fees, speculative ticketing, and bot usage.
Statements from the Governor and Live Nation
Governor Pritzker said: “Corporations have become more and more creative in finding ways to charge consumers more while telling them less about what they’re charging them for. Today is about something really simple but enormously important, and that’s protecting people’s hard-earned money.”
Live Nation, the live entertainment company, issued a statement supporting the move: “We applaud Illinois lawmakers for standing for fans and artists by passing a ban on speculative tickets and deceptive websites. No one should be able to scam fans by listing tickets they don’t have or pretending to be legitimate ticket sellers.”
