N.Y. Arts and Cultural Affairs Law 25.34 – Ticket websites
* § 25.34. Ticket websites. 1. As used in this section:
Terms Used In N.Y. Arts and Cultural Affairs Law 25.34
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Entertainment: means all forms of entertainment including, but not limited to, theatrical or operatic performances, concerts, motion pictures, all forms of entertainment at fair grounds, amusement parks and all types of athletic competitions including football, basketball, baseball, boxing, tennis, hockey, and any other sport, and all other forms of diversion, recreation or show. See N.Y. Arts and Cultural Affairs Law 25.03
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Place of entertainment: means any privately or publicly owned and operated entertainment facility such as a theatre, stadium, arena, racetrack, museum, amusement park, or other place where performances, concerts, exhibits, athletic games or contests are held for which an entry fee is charged. See N.Y. Arts and Cultural Affairs Law 25.03
- Ticket: means any evidence of the right of entry to any place of entertainment. See N.Y. Arts and Cultural Affairs Law 25.03
- Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
(a) "Ticket website" means an internet website advertising the sale of tickets, offering the sale of such tickets, or facilitating a secondary ticket exchange.
(b) "URL" means the uniform resource locator for a website on the internet.
2. (a) It shall be unlawful for any person or other entity to, with intent to mislead or deceive, own, operate, or control a ticket website for an event scheduled at a place of entertainment to use a subdomain or domain name in a ticket website's URL that contains:
(i) the name of the place of entertainment, provided that this paragraph shall not preclude the use of general terms to depict a geographical location or venue category;
(ii) the name of the specific event, including the name of a person or entity scheduled to perform or appear at the event; or
(iii) a name substantially similar to those in subparagraph (i) or (ii) of this paragraph.
(b) Paragraph (a) of this subdivision shall not apply if the person is acting on behalf of, and with the consent of, the place of entertainment, event, artist or sports team for which the website is being created.
3. Any person, firm, corporation or other entity who intentionally owns, operates, or controls such ticket website shall be subject to a civil penalty in an amount of no more than one thousand five hundred dollars for each such violation.
4. Any person who is subject to a civil penalty under this section and has been assessed a penalty under this section in the previous three years shall be assessed a civil penalty of no more than five thousand dollars for each such violation.
5. The attorney general shall have jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of this § of the executive law.
* NB Repealed July 1, 2025