If you’ve ever sat at your computer the minute tickets went on sale only to find the best seats already gone, a new federal lawsuit might explain some of that frustration. The FTC is suing ticket broker REPS & Company Inc., along with its CEO, president, and chief operating officer, accusing the company of violating the Better Online Ticket Sales Act since 2022.
The complaint, filed by the Justice Department in federal court in Southern California, alleges REPS bought more than 18.5 million tickets to at least 83,500 events, spending over $1.3 billion along the way. According to the FTC, the company flipped those tickets for at least $120.8 million in profit. One example cited: a 2023 Kansas City concert where REPS allegedly used about 1,300 accounts to buy 7,624 tickets and netted $833,000.
The case also alleges employees, mostly based in the Philippines, used fake accounts, proxy services, and multisession browsers to get around purchase limits on major ticketing sites. The FTC voted 2-0 to refer the complaint, and no findings have been made yet. For Suncoast concertgoers and spring training fans alike, the bigger question is whether enforcement will ever make face-value tickets easier to get. What’s the hardest ticket you’ve ever tried to get your hands on? Let us know.
