Wisconsin legislators have introduced the SWIFTIE Act — an acronym for Stop Wildly Inflated Fees and Ticketing Industry Rip-offs, a plan to rope in runaway ticket prices and quell scalping practices that have alienated fans on large tours and at sporting events. Sponsored by Democratic lawmakers, the idea takes aim at fee transparency, right of transfer and resale policies that consumer advocates argue distort the market and punish fans.
What the SWIFTIE Act Would Accomplish in Wisconsin
Sponsors of the bill and reporting from Wisconsin outlets said it would mandate upfront all-in pricing so that buyers see the total cost initially, instead of after a cascade of add-ons at checkout. It also establishes clearer refund standards when there is a cancellation or material change to an event, as well as enforceable regulations concerning how tickets can be sold and purchased on resale platforms.
A central feature is transferability. The plan is to help fans transfer or resell legally purchased tickets without restrictive entrapment—where a buyer must use only one platform and/or has the ticket voided if listed elsewhere. Critics say these limitations can keep fans locked in, smother competition, and perpetuate higher prices.
The measure also takes aim at common resale hazards, such as “speculative” listings — tickets listed by sellers who do not actually own them — and deceptive marketing that obscures the identity of platforms or sellers. Enforcement would fall to state consumer protection authorities, who would work in concert with existing federal laws that prohibit the use of ticket-buying bots.
Why ticket prices keep climbing for concerts and sports
Fees and market concentration are two major drivers of this. Fees often add 20 to 30 percent to the face value of tickets, and occasionally more at some events (according to a review by the Government Accountability Office). For fans, the final price whiplash at checkout can seem like bait-and-switch. Obscure fee structures make it difficult for artists or venues to judge whether prices are a product of actual demand or the policy of the platform.
Meanwhile, federal and state officials have taken a hard look at Live Nation’s control over promotion of concerts, operation of venues and sale of primary tickets. The U.S. Department of Justice and several states filed an antitrust lawsuit in 2024 asserting practices that protect that dominance and prevent competition. Live Nation disputes those arguments, contending that high demand, rather than the concentration of content or live entertainment options available in a given city where Live Nation operates venues and manages artists, drives price spikes for blockbuster shows.
Dynamic pricing adds another layer. By letting prices float with demand, the platforms say they are more closely matching market value. Critics argue that it turbocharges turnover on the most sought-after tickets, squeezing out average fans. Bots that grab inventory in milliseconds — even though the federal BOTS Act bans such behavior — exacerbate the problem by diverting supply to high-priced secondary markets.
How Wisconsin’s Plan Fits Into National Efforts
The SWIFTIE Act is a reflection of a larger policy thrust. The TICKET Act, which passed the House, would enforce all-in pricing and clamp down on deceptive resale listings across the country; the Senate’s Fans First Act also aims to address fake or speculative tickets and misleading tactics. Not to mention, the White House’s campaign against “junk fees” has steered platforms toward upfront pricing disclosures.
States are moving too. On the books in New York are transparency and anti-speculative listing laws, while California’s consumer protection law against hidden fees has pushed all-in pricing across several service lines, from event tickets onward. The first enforcement action of the BOTS Act came in 2021, when the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice secured multimillion-dollar penalties from three brokers who had used automated tools to buy tickets en masse.
Collectively, these policies are aimed at the same pain points: hidden fees, deceptive listings, banned transfers and bot-aided hoarding. Wisconsin’s proposal would fill in any remaining gaps at the state level, for the most part clearing a lane for enforcement against sellers and platforms that do business in or advertise to residents of Wisconsin.
What it means for Wisconsin fans, artists, and venues
Buyers would see the most immediate change in that they would be certain of a price. When the all-in number shows up right away, fans can comparison-shop among these primary and secondary platforms with fewer surprises. And having solid transfer rights would also make it easier for families to share plans or recoup costs if schedules change — without the threat that a ticket could be made void simply for leaving an official marketplace.
Artists and promoters fear that unchecked resale could encourage arbitrage. Others have experimented with partial or face-value transfers as a way to combat scalpers. But consumer advocates say when tickets are locked down in walled gardens, it shuts independent and smaller players out of the marketplace and allows dominant platforms more power. The Cure’s 2023 tour provided a test case: after Ticketmaster refunded some fans who complained about additional fees, the company demonstrated how pressure for transparency can influence outcomes.
Industry leaders also argue that many tickets are “underpriced” relative to demand, and that dynamic models simply reveal the true market rate. Skeptics counter that when a handful of companies control crucial infrastructure and impose a take-it-or-leave-it toll, the market signal gets screwed with — doubly so as bots and speculative listings amplify scarcity.
The road ahead for Wisconsin’s proposed SWIFTIE Act
The SWIFTIE Act will run the standard legislative gantlet, and ticket companies, venues and consumer groups can all be expected to lobby against it. But the core concepts — including honest pricing, fair refunds, sound resale laws and transferable tickets — dovetail with reforms that are moving forward in Congress and other states.
Even if Congress does put together a national framework, state-level rules like Wisconsin’s can deliver on-the-ground enforcement and quicker fixes for local fans. After years of viral screenshots, crashed queues and sticker shock, this bill suggests the political appetite for cleaning up the ticket market isn’t going away any time soon.
