Events, venues and entertainment: the numbers, the rules, the AI picture.

• FTC Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees (16 CFR Part 464)

  Since May 12, 2025, any business that offers, displays or advertises live-event tickets must show the total price, including every mandatory fee it knows and can calculate. The total must be more prominent than other pricing information. Only government charges, shipping and optional add-ons may be left out, and they must be disclosed before payment. The FTC names resellers and third-party platforms as covered. The rule covers concerts, sports and theater, and generally not film screenings.

  What it means: Every ticket price on your site, in ads, in emails and on social posts should be the all-in price per ticket. Describe each fee truthfully: the FTC warns against vague labels such as “convenience fee”, and a “taxes and fees” line must not hide the seller’s profit. The rule does not mention venue hire or wedding packages, so ask counsel whether your products fall inside it. Canada and the UK go further. In September 2024 Canada’s Competition Tribunal ordered Cineplex to pay over $38.9 million over a mandatory $1.50 online booking fee. The UK has banned drip pricing since April 6, 2025.

  [8] ftc.gov

• State ticket pricing and resale laws: New York Arts and Cultural Affairs Law § 25.07 and California Civil Code § 1770(a)(29)

  New York requires operators, resellers and platforms to disclose the total cost of a ticket, including all fees, in the listing before the ticket is selected. The price may not rise during the purchase. Resellers must guarantee a full refund, including fees, if the event is cancelled or the ticket does not admit the buyer, and New York licenses ticket resellers. California’s Honest Pricing Law, in force since July 1, 2024, requires advertised prices to include all mandatory fees. The Attorney General says it applies to event tickets, including resales.

  What it means: If you sell tickets to New York or California buyers, show the all-in price from the first listing, not only at checkout. Do not add a variable service fee later in the transaction. If you resell in New York, check the Department of State license and write the refund guarantee into your terms. California’s law reaches most goods and services, so a venue or vendor advertising prices to California clients should fold mandatory charges into the advertised price. Other states have their own rules, so check each one you sell into.

  [9] nysenate.gov

• Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act of 2016 and Google Ads event ticket policy

  The BOTS Act makes it illegal to get around a ticket issuer’s security measures or purchase limits, for example with bots or fake identities. It also bars selling tickets obtained that way. It covers public events at venues with a capacity of more than 200. The FTC and state attorneys general enforce it. Separately, Google Ads requires event ticket sellers to be confirmed eligible before advertising. Resellers must say they are not the primary provider, and that prices may exceed face value, within the top 20% of the landing page.

  What it means: Promoters and venues should set and enforce purchase limits, and refuse to work with brokers who bypass them. In August 2025 the FTC sued a Maryland broker it alleges bought at least 379,776 tickets in just over a year by getting around limits. If you advertise tickets on Google, apply for eligibility first. Primary providers are exempt from most of the reseller page rules unless they link to a resale site. Resellers may not call themselves “official” without written authorization.

  [10] ftc.gov

• FTC Trade Regulation Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials (16 CFR Part 465)

  In force since October 21, 2024, the rule bans writing, buying or selling fake reviews and testimonials. It also bans incentives conditioned on positive or negative sentiment, undisclosed insider reviews and company-controlled review sites posing as independent. Fake social media indicators and review suppression through unfounded legal threats or intimidation are banned too. Courts can impose civil penalties for knowing violations. Google’s own policy bars paying for reviews, offering incentives and selectively asking only happy customers.

  What it means: Ask every client for a review the same way, after every event. Never offer a discount, upgrade or free hour in exchange for a review. Staff, family and partner vendors must disclose their connection in any review they post. Do not threaten a client over a negative review: reply calmly and factually. A “best venues” list on a site you control must not pose as independent. The FTC says asking only happy clients is not banned by this rule, but may still breach the FTC Act, and Google forbids it.

  [11] ftc.gov

• FTC Endorsement Guides: gifted services, styled shoots and creator content

  The FTC’s Endorsement Guides, revised in 2023, require a clear and conspicuous disclosure when an endorser has a material connection to the business. Payment, free products or services, discounts and family or employment ties all count. Businesses can be held responsible for endorsers they supply, and should run reasonable programs to train and monitor them. Hiring an agency to manage creators does not remove that responsibility.

  What it means: Event businesses trade services for exposure all the time: styled shoots, comped events for creators and vendor swaps. When someone posts about a service they got free or discounted, the post itself needs a plain disclosure, such as “Ad” or “The venue hosted us for free”. A disclosure hidden in the comments or behind a link is generally not enough. Brief your partners in writing, ask them to tag you and check what they publish.

  [12] ftc.gov

• Americans with Disabilities Act: Title III ticketing (28 CFR 36.302(f)) and web accessibility

  Title III covers businesses open to the public. Its ticketing rule requires accessible seating to be sold during the same hours and sales stages, through the same distribution methods and on the same terms as other tickets. Accessible seats may not cost more than other seats in the same section, and their location and features must be described on request. The Justice Department’s 2022 guidance says the ADA applies to businesses’ online offerings and points to WCAG as helpful technical guidance.

  What it means: If you sell tickets online, accessible seats must be bookable online too, with the same seating maps and pricing information. Every venue site should have captions on video, alt text on photos, readable contrast, keyboard-friendly forms and an accessibility page covering entrances, parking, restrooms and seating. The Justice Department warns that a clean automated scan does not prove access. Venues run by state or local governments face a separate Title II web rule built on WCAG 2.1 AA, so check those deadlines with counsel.

  [13] law.cornell.edu

• Copyright (17 U.S.C. § 101) and the right of publicity: portfolio photos and model releases

  Copyright protects a photo from the moment it is created, and the person who takes it is the author and owner. Work made by an employee within the job belongs to the employer. A photo commissioned from an independent photographer is generally not a work made for hire, because standalone photographs are not among the nine commissioned categories in the statute. Using a person’s likeness in advertising is a separate, state-law question. New York Civil Rights Law § 50 makes it a misdemeanor to use a living person’s name, picture or voice for advertising or trade without written consent.

  What it means: A venue or planner posting a photographer’s images needs the photographer’s permission, ideally a written license with credit terms. Photographers need written releases before using clients or guests in ads, and a parent or guardian must consent for minors in New York. Contracts should say who may use which images, where and for how long. Vendor photo-sharing only works when each vendor has the photographer’s permission. Other states have their own publicity laws, so check yours.

  [14] copyright.gov

• State alcohol advertising rules: Massachusetts 204 CMR 4.03 as an example

  States regulate how licensed premises promote drinks, and the rules vary widely. Massachusetts bars on-premises licensees from offering free drinks and from selling unlimited drinks for a fixed price, except at private functions not open to the public. It also bars licensees from advertising or promoting any of those prohibited practices, inside or outside the premises.

  What it means: In Massachusetts, a venue can sell an open-bar package for a private wedding or corporate event, but should not promote a public bottomless or free-drink night. Check your own state’s alcohol regulator before you publish drink specials, open-bar offers for public events or “free champagne” promotions. Make clear on your site who holds the liquor license and who serves: the venue, a licensed caterer or a hired bar service.

  [15] law.cornell.edu

This is general information, not legal advice. Ticketing, pricing, publicity and alcohol rules change and vary by state and country. Check with the FTC, your state attorney general, your alcohol regulator and your own counsel before you publish.