HB1650 Summary

• Creates the "Event Ticketing and Resale Consumer Protection Act" establishing consumer protections for ticket sales and resales in Arkansas for theatrical productions, concerts, sporting events, and other public entertainments.

• Prohibits local governments from enacting ordinances that ban ticket resales at any price or restrict fees on resales, while allowing enforcement against criminal activity, fraud, and deceptive practices.

• Requires ticket sellers and resellers to guarantee timely ticket delivery, valid entry, maintain customer service contact options, and provide full refunds for counterfeit tickets, cancelled tickets, undelivered tickets, or tickets that fail to provide admission.

• Restricts platform operators from using internet domain names containing team, league, venue, event names, or related trademarks without authorization in their ticketing URLs.

• Establishes criminal penalties including Class A misdemeanor for counterfeiting tickets and Class D felony for repeat violations; exempts institutions of higher education from criminal and civil liability.