Got a new baby in Illinois? Your employer now owes you paid pump breaks

Michigan targets bots with new law

Michigan just made it illegal to use automated software to scoop up event tickets before real fans can buy them.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed the Event Online Ticket Sales Act on Dec. 23, 2025, making Michigan the 14th state to ban ticket-buying bots.

The law covers concerts, sporting events, and any live entertainment open to the public. Lawmakers and media have nicknamed it the “Taylor Swift Law,” though that name doesn’t appear in the actual statute.

Two bills work together to enforce it

The law comes from two bills that were tied together, meaning neither could take effect without the other. Sen. Mary Cavanagh, a Democrat from Redford Township, sponsored the bill that creates the act itself.

Rep. Mike Harris, a Republican from Waterford, sponsored the companion bill that spells out how the state enforces it. Both chambers passed the bills with bipartisan support, a rare thing in today’s political climate.

Bots can’t bypass limits or queues

The law spells out exactly what’s off limits. Nobody can use or build a bot to get around ticket purchase limits set by event sellers.

Automated software that skips digital queues, waiting periods, or presale protections is also banned. Same goes for bots that disable security measures meant to verify real tickets.

If it’s a scheduled entertainment event open to the public in Michigan, the law applies.

Fines can stack up fast

Violators face civil fines of up to $5,000 for every ticket they grab through illegal means. Each ticket counts as its own violation, so someone who snags 100 tickets could owe up to $500,000.

The Michigan Attorney General can investigate violations, take violators to court, and seek orders to stop ongoing bot activity. Courts can also make violators pay back affected consumers and cover the AG’s legal costs.

The Eras Tour presale started it all

The nickname traces back to November 2022, when Ticketmaster opened the presale for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.

About 3.5 million people had signed up through Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan program, and the site crashed within an hour.

Despite the chaos, the platform sold roughly 2.4 million tickets that day, a single-day record for any artist.

Ticketmaster blamed heavy traffic and bot activity for the meltdown and ultimately canceled the public on-sale, saying too few tickets remained.

Resale prices shot past $10,000

Tickets that originally cost between $49 and $449 showed up on resale sites for thousands of dollars. In some cities, listings topped $10,000.

Fans were furious. Lawsuits piled up against Ticketmaster, and multiple state attorneys general started looking into what happened. Members of Congress got involved too.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar called for investigations into Ticketmaster’s grip on the market.

Michigan tried this before and failed

This wasn’t Michigan’s first attempt. Lawmakers introduced similar bills in 2024, and they passed the House but stalled in a Senate committee without a vote.

The bills came back in 2025 as Senate Bills 158 and 159, and this time they made it all the way to the governor’s desk. It took two legislative sessions, but supporters finally got it across the finish line.

A federal law exists but rarely gets enforced

Congress passed the Better Online Ticket Sales Act, known as the BOTS Act, back in 2016 under President Obama. That federal law bans bots from getting around ticket purchase limits at venues seating more than 200 people.

But the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) didn’t bring its first cases until 2021, five years later. Those cases targeted three New York-based brokers who used bots and fake accounts to buy more than 150,000 tickets.

The brokers paid about $3.7 million in penalties.

State law fills a federal enforcement gap

Supporters say the state law lets Michigan regulators and courts move faster than federal agencies. The FTC has only taken action once in the entire history of the BOTS Act.

Sen. Cavanagh said that lack of enforcement has left Michigan consumers unprotected.

The state law works alongside the federal ban rather than replacing it, giving Michigan its own tools to go after bad actors.

Thirteen other states already have similar bans

Michigan joins 13 other states that have passed their own ticket bot laws, including California, Indiana, Minnesota, Oregon, North Carolina, and Tennessee.

More than 20 states introduced ticketing-related measures in 2024 alone, covering everything from bots to fee transparency to refund policies.

The trend shows bipartisan agreement that waiting on federal enforcement alone isn’t working.

Federal action is picking up too

President Trump signed an executive order on March 31, 2025, called “Combating Unfair Practices in the Live Entertainment Market.”

The order directs the FTC to step up enforcement of the BOTS Act and work with state attorneys general. It also calls for price transparency at every stage of the ticket-buying process, including resales.

On a separate track, the Department of Justice has an ongoing antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation and Ticketmaster.

The law takes effect in March 2026

Public Act 49 takes effect on March 24, 2026. Michigan consumers who spot suspicious bot activity can file a complaint through the Attorney General’s office.

The law doesn’t go after individual fans who resell tickets they bought for themselves. Its target is the automated software built to hoard tickets in bulk before everyday buyers even have a shot.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

Read more from this brand:

• “Taylor Swift Bill” bans bots from hoarding tickets in concerts and live events
• The piano that made Motown: secrets of Hitsville U.S.A.
• What connects Hawaiian royalty, a hungry ox, and this forgotten Michigan island?