NIVA Makes Anti-Spec Ticket Push After World Cup Snafus

The National Independent Venue Association and the Fan Alliance are urging congressional leaders to ban the sale of speculative tickets after media reports of fans being turned away from FIFA Men’s World Cup matches due to not having functioning tickets despite laying out thousands of dollars.

In a letter sent to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Stephen Parker, Executive Director of the National Independent Venue Association, and Donald Cohen, Executive Director of Fan Alliance, offered nearly two dozen exhibits of World Cup fans being foiled by the practice.

“We warned that consumers would purchase tickets that did not exist. We warned that families would travel thousands of miles only to discover their tickets could not be delivered. We warned that refunds would not make consumers whole after airfare, hotels, rental cars, parking, and other travel expenses. Unfortunately, every one of those warnings has become a reality on the world’s biggest sporting stage,” the letter, which can be found here, reads.

The version of the long-discussed TICKET Act includes what Parker and Cohen say are loopholes that would still permit spec ticketing, such as allowing ticketers to use “concierge” products. NIVA and the Fan Alliance want stronger language that bars the selling of any ticket not in the seller’s possession, similar to language included in several state-level ticketing reform bills.