[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9762 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9762
To require transparency of ticket sales, prohibit withholding
information on the number of tickets available to inflate prices, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 16, 2026
Ms. Pou introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require transparency of ticket sales, prohibit withholding
information on the number of tickets available to inflate prices, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Halting Organizers and Live-Event
Distributors from Boosting Artificial Capacity with Known Seating Act''
or the ``HOLDBACKS Act''.
SEC. 2. TICKET SALE TRANSPARENCY.
(a) Requirements and Prohibitions.--
(1) Ticket availability transparency.--
(A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph
(B) and not less than 7 days before the date on which
tickets are first made available for primary sale, a
primary ticket seller shall disclose clearly and
conspicuously on the website of the seller and at the
box office of the venue where an event or performance
will be held the following:
(i) The total number of scheduled
occurrences at that venue that will be offered
for sale to the general public.
(ii) The total number of available tickets
that will be offered for sale to the general
public by the primary ticket seller for each
scheduled occurrence.
(iii) The total cost of an individual
ticket that will be offered for sale to the
general public by the seller for each scheduled
occurrence.
(B) Exception.--Subparagraph (A) does not apply to
a sporting event for which the total number of
scheduled occurrences is not known due to the
contingent length of the sporting event based on the
number of wins secured by a team to terminate and end a
particular series.
(2) Prohibition on ticket withholding and dynamic
pricing.--A primary ticket seller may not withhold the sale of
tickets to the general public for a scheduled occurrence for
the purpose of--
(A) inflating ticket prices beyond fair market
value based on the availability of tickets known to the
primary ticket seller at the time; or
(B) concealing or otherwise providing misleading
information on the number of tickets available for sale
to the public after the primary ticket seller begins
the initial offering for sale of tickets to the public.
(b) Enforcement by Federal Trade Commission.--
(1) Unfair or deceptive acts or practices.--A violation of
subsection (a) or a regulation promulgated under such
subsection shall be treated as a violation of a regulation
under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act
(15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)) regarding unfair or deceptive acts or
practices.
(2) Powers of commission.--The Federal Trade Commission
shall enforce subsection (a) and any regulation promulgated
under such subsection in the same manner, by the same means,
and with the same jurisdiction, powers, and duties as though
all applicable terms and provisions of the Federal Trade
Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were incorporated into
and made a part of this section. Any person who violates such
subsection or a regulation promulgated under such subsection
shall be subject to the penalties and entitled to the
privileges and immunities provided in the Federal Trade
Commission Act.
(c) Authority Preserved.--Nothing in this section--
(1) prevents the attorney general of a State from
exercising the powers conferred on the attorney general by the
laws of such State to conduct investigations or to administer
oaths or affirmations or to compel the attendance of witnesses
or the production of documentary and other evidence; and
(2) prohibits the attorney general of a State, or other
authorized State officer, from proceeding in State or Federal
court on the basis of an alleged violation of any civil or
criminal statute of that State.
(d) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal
Trade Commission.
(2) Primary sale.--The term ``primary sale'' means, with
regards to a ticket, the initial sale of a ticket.
(3) Primary ticket seller.--The term ``primary ticket
seller'' means an owner or operator of a venue or sports team,
a manager or provider of an event, or a provider of ticketing
services (or an agent of such owner, operator, manager, or
provider) that engages in the primary or initial sale of
tickets for an event to the general public.
(4) Scheduled occurrence.--The term ``scheduled
occurrence'' means a single event or performance by a team,
performer, or artist.
(5) Ticket.--The term ``ticket'' means a printed,
electronic, or other type of evidence of the right for
admission to a sporting event, theater, musical performance, or
place of public amusement of any kind, including bundled series
tickets.
(6) Total cost of an individual ticket.--The term ``total
cost of an individual ticket'' means the base price of an
individual ticket and any charge for an event ticket that must
be paid in addition to the base event ticket price in order to
obtain an event ticket from the primary ticket issuer,
including any service fee, charge and order processing fee,
delivery fee, facility charge fee, tax, and any other charge.
(7) Total number of scheduled occurrences.--The term
``total number of scheduled occurrences''--
(A) means a series of scheduled occurrences that
takes place at a particular venue under the same title;
and
(B) includes an event or performance in the series
with a minor change (such as a change of an opening
performer).
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