SB338 - Revises provisions relating to the sale of tickets to a live entertainment event. (BDR 52-590)

- 83rd Session (2025) Senate Bill No. 338–Senators Pazina, Flores, Doñate, Cruz- Crawford; Cannizzaro, Daly, Dondero Loop, Lange, Nguyen, Ohrenschall and Taylor CHAPTER.......... AN ACT relating to trade practices; revising provisions relating to the sale of tickets for certain live entertainment events; requiring providers of live entertainment tickets to clearly and conspicuously disclose certain information relating to pricing; prohibiting providers of live entertainment tickets from misrepresenting certain information relating to pricing; requiring providers of live entertainment tickets to issue refunds in certain circumstances; providing penalties; and providing other matters properly relating thereto. Legislative Counsel’s Digest: On January 10, 2025, The Federal Trade Commission published a final trade regulation rule in the Federal Register entitled “Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees” (“the Rule”). (90 Fed. Reg. 2066 (Jan. 10, 2025)) The Rule, which will take effect on May 12, 2025, prohibits a business that sells or offers live-event tickets from offering, displaying or advertising the price of a live-event ticket without clearly and conspicuously disclosing the maximum total price that a consumer must pay for the live-event ticket, inclusive of all fees or charges that the consumer must pay for any mandatory good or service sold as part of the purchase of the ticket. The seller of live-event tickets is authorized to exclude from the total price required to be disclosed for the live-event ticket any governmental charges, shipping charges and charges for optional goods or services that the consumer may purchase as a part of the same transaction. (16 C.F.R. § 464.1, 464.2; 90 Fed. Reg. 2066, 2166-67 (Jan. 10, 2025)) The Rule prescribes particular means by which a disclosure must be “clearly and conspicuously” made to a consumer. (16 C.F.R. § 464.1; 90 Fed. Reg. 2066, 2167 (Jan. 10, 2025)) Additionally, the Rule prohibits a seller of live- event tickets from misrepresenting any fee or charge. (16 C.F.R. § 464.3; 90 Fed. Reg. 2066, 2167 (Jan. 10, 2025)) Finally, the Rule provides that state law or regulation may provide consumers with protection that is greater than, or at least not inconsistent with, the protections for consumers prescribed by the Rule. (16 C.F.R. § 464.4; 90 Fed. Reg. 2066, 2167 (Jan. 10, 2025)) Existing state law prohibits a reseller, a secondary ticket exchange or an affiliate of a reseller or secondary ticket exchange from reselling a ticket for a live entertainment event without disclosing to the purchaser the total amount that the purchaser will be charged for the ticket. (NRS 598.39795) Section 12 of this bill repeals this provision. Instead, section 4 of this bill prescribes certain requirements for businesses that sell tickets to live entertainment events, which are equivalent to the requirements established in the Rule. Specifically, section 4 prohibits a ticket provider from offering, displaying or advertising any price of a ticket for a live entertainment event unless the ticket provider clearly and conspicuously discloses the total price of the ticket. Section 4 also requires certain information to be clearly and conspicuously disclosed to a consumer before the consumer agrees to purchase a ticket from the ticket provider. Section 4 prescribes certain means by which a ticket provider must clearly and conspicuously make such disclosures to consumers, which are identical to those means prescribed in the Rule. Section 4 also prohibits a ticket provider from misrepresenting any fee or charge. – 2 – - 83rd Session (2025) Section 5 of this bill requires, with certain exceptions, a ticket provider to provide a refund of the full amount a purchaser paid to the ticket provider for a ticket to a live entertainment event, including all applicable fees and governmental charges, if the event to which the ticket pertains is cancelled. Section 5 requires that the refund be provided to the purchaser not more than 30 days after the sponsor of the event notifies the public that the live entertainment event is cancelled. Existing law prohibits certain other practices and acts relating to the sale and resale of tickets for live entertainment events. (NRS 598.397-598.3984) Existing law entitles a person who is injured by a violation of such provisions to bring a civil action against the reseller, secondary ticket exchange or affiliate of the reseller or secondary ticket exchange that committed the violation. Section 9 of this bill clarifies that this remedy does not extend to violations of section 4 or 5. Section 8 of this bill requires the Bureau of Consumer Protection in the Office of the Attorney General to accept reports of violations of sections 4 and 5 using the mechanisms by which the Bureau receives reports of violations of other provisions relating to the sale and resale of tickets for live entertainment events. (NRS 598.3981) Sections 10 and 11 of this bill provide that a willful violation of section 4 or 5 is punishable by certain criminal penalties, which are currently applicable to willful violations of other provisions relating to the sale or resale of tickets for live entertainment events. (NRS 598.3983, 598.3984) Existing law defines various activities involving businesses and occupations that constitute deceptive trade practices. (NRS 598.0915-598.0925) If a person engages in a deceptive trade practice, the person may be subject to the imposition of certain restraints by injunction and civil and criminal penalties. (NRS 598.0979, 598.0985, 598.0999) Existing law makes a knowing violation of provisions relating to the sale and resale of tickets for live entertainment events a deceptive trade practice. (NRS 598.09223) Section 6 of this bill makes a knowing violation of section 4 or 5 a deceptive trade practice, thereby subjecting a violator of those sections to additional civil and criminal penalties. Sections 2 and 3 of this bill define certain terms, and section 7 of this bill establishes the applicability of those definitions. EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. Chapter 598 of NRS is hereby amended by adding thereto the provisions set forth as sections 2 to 5, inclusive, of this act. Sec. 2. “Governmental charges” means any taxes, fees or charges that the Federal Government or this State, or any agency or political subdivision thereof, or a tribal government imposes on or requires to be collected in connection with the sale of a ticket or a transaction involving the sale of a ticket. Sec. 3. “Ticket provider” means a natural person, proprietorship, corporation, partnership, trust, unincorporated organization or other enterprise that is engaged in the business of selling tickets, reselling tickets or offering tickets for sale, – 3 – - 83rd Session (2025) including, without limitation, a primary ticket provider, reseller or secondary ticket exchange. Sec. 4. 1. A ticket provider shall not offer, display or advertise any price of a ticket without clearly and conspicuously disclosing the total price of the ticket. A ticket provider may exclude from the total price: (a) Governmental charges; (b) Shipping charges; and (c) Fees and charges for optional ancillary goods or services. 2. A ticket provider shall clearly and conspicuously disclose to a consumer, before the consumer agrees to purchase a ticket: (a) The nature, purpose and amount of any fee or charge that has been excluded from the total price of the ticket and the identity of the good or service for which the fee or charge is imposed; and (b) The final amount of payment for the transaction. 3. A ticket provider shall display the total price of the ticket more prominently than any other information relating to the price of the ticket. Where the final amount of payment for the transaction for the ticket is displayed, the final amount of payment must be disclosed more prominently than, or as prominently as, the total price. 4. For the purposes of subsections 1 and 2, a ticket provider makes a clear and conspicuous disclosure if the disclosure is easily noticeable and understandable by an ordinary consumer, and: (a) The disclosure uses clear and comprehensible language, diction and syntax that is easily understandable to an ordinary consumer or, if the communication containing the disclosure is specifically targeted at a specific subset of consumers, including, without limitation, children or seniors, the disclosure uses clear and comprehensible language, diction and syntax that is easily understandable to consumers in that subset of consumers. (b) The disclosure is not contradicted or mitigated by, or inconsistent with, anything else contained within the communication containing the disclosure. (c) The disclosure, if displayed visually, stands out from any accompanying text or other visual elements by its size, contrast, location, the length of time it appears and other characteristics, so that it is easily noticed, read and understood. (d) If the disclosure is made through audible means, including, without limitation, by telephone or streaming video, the disclosure is delivered in a volume, speed and cadence that would – 4 – - 83rd Session (2025) allow an ordinary consumer to easily hear and understand the disclosure. (e) If the communication requiring the disclosure is displayed using an interactive electronic medium, including, without limitation, an Internet web browser or mobile application, the disclosure is unavoidable. (f) If the communication requiring the disclosure is made through solely audible or solely visual means, the disclosure is made through the same means as the whole communication. (g) If the communication requiring the disclosure is made through both visual and audible means, including, without limitation, through a television advertisement, the communication is presented simultaneously in both the visual and audible portion of the communication, even if the representation requiring the disclosure is made in only one means. (h) The disclosure complies with all of the requirements of this subsection in each medium through which it is received, including, without limitation, all electronic devices and face-to- face communications. 5. A ticket provider shall not misrepresent any fee or charge, including, without limitation, misrepresenting: (a) The nature, purpose or refundability of any fee or charge; or (b) The identity of any good or service for which the fee or charge is imposed. 6. As used in this section: (a) “Ancillary good or service” means any additional good or service offered to a consumer as part of a transaction for the purchase of a ticket. (b) “Shipping charges” means the fees or charges that reasonably reflect the amount that a ticket provider incurs to deliver or send a physical ticket to a consumer. (c) “Total price” means the maximum total of all fees or charges that a consumer must pay to complete a transaction to purchase a ticket, including, without limitation, a fee or charge for any mandatory ancillary good or service. Sec. 5. 1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2, a ticket provider that sells a ticket to a purchaser shall provide the purchaser with a refund of the full amount that the purchaser paid the ticket provider for the ticket, inclusive of all fees and governmental charges, if the athletic contest or live entertainment event to which the ticket pertains is cancelled. A ticket provider must provide a refund required pursuant to this subsection not – 5 – - 83rd Session (2025) more than 30 days after the rights holder or sponsor of the athletic contest or live entertainment event, as applicable, notifies the public that the athletic contest or live entertainment event to which the ticket pertains is cancelled. 2. A ticket provider is not required to provide a refund pursuant to subsection 1 if, in the discretion of the ticket provider: (a) The athletic contest or live entertainment event for which the ticket provider sold a ticket is cancelled because of: (1) A major catastrophe or other event for which a state of emergency or declaration of disaster is proclaimed pursuant to NRS 414.070; (2) An extraordinary event or circumstance that could not have been foreseen by and is beyond the control of the ticket provider; or (3) Any other issue or event in the nature of force majeure; or (b) For an athletic contest or live entertainment event scheduled to occur outdoors or within an open air venue, including, without limitation, a music or cultural festival that takes place over several days, the rights holder provides in the terms and conditions of the live event ticket sold by the ticket provider that the athletic contest or live entertainment event will occur notwithstanding inclement weather conditions, other than extreme or dangerous weather conditions and, because of such extreme or dangerous weather conditions, the live entertainment or athletic event, or a portion thereof, is cancelled. Sec. 6. NRS 598.09223 is hereby amended to read as follows: 598.09223 A person engages in a “deceptive trade practice” when, in the course of his or her business or occupation, he or she knowingly violates a provision of NRS 598.397 to 598.3984, inclusive [.] , and sections 2 to 5, inclusive, of this act. Sec. 7. NRS 598.397 is hereby amended to read as follows: 598.397 As used in NRS 598.397 to 598.3984, inclusive, and sections 2 to 5, inclusive, of this act, unless the context otherwise requires, the words and terms defined in NRS 598.3971 to 598.3977, inclusive, and sections 2 and 3 of this act have the meanings ascribed to them in those sections. Sec. 8. NRS 598.3981 is hereby amended to read as follows: 598.3981 1. The Bureau of Consumer Protection in the Office of the Attorney General shall establish a toll-free statewide hotline and an Internet website by which a person may file a complaint relating to a suspected violation of NRS 598.397 to 598.3984, inclusive, and sections 2 to 5, inclusive, of this act and – 6 – - 83rd Session (2025) obtain information and directions regarding the preferred method for filing such a complaint. 2. Any form made available by the Bureau of Consumer Protection for receiving complaints relating to a suspected violation of NRS 598.397 to 598.3984, inclusive, and sections 2 to 5, inclusive, of this act must be designed specifically for receiving [Text truncated for display. Full text available on LegiScan.]