Which company owns Ticketmaster? Ticketing website under investigation by FTC over measures taken to stop resale bots

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is reportedly investigating Ticketmaster to see if the ticketing website is taking enough measures to ensure bots are not reselling on its platform. Live Nation owns Ticketmaster.

Bloomberg reported on September 15, 2025, citing sources who are part of the confidential investigation. As per the news outlet, if the platform is caught violating the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act, it would have to pay $53,000 per violation, which could amount to billions of dollars.

The 2016 law prevents the use of bots and other illegal methods to resell tickets at a higher price.

Bloomberg stated that the investigation is already at an advanced stage, and in a few weeks, a case against Ticketmaster could be pursued.

Ticketmaster is being investigated by the U.S. FTC to determine if the platform is putting in enough effort to prevent bots from illegally reselling tickets.

(https://t.co/WZqjAyQFLb) pic.twitter.com/SheP0K7VBc

— Pop Base (@PopBase) September 15, 2025

Ticketmaster has denied violating the BOTS Act in a statement given to Reuters, claiming that it blocks 200 million bots per day. The company stated that the US Federal Trade Commission has a "fundamental misunderstanding" of their policies, and they would like to work with the FTC to improve the ticketing industry.

"We haven't violated the BOTS Act and will vigorously defend any such claims, however, we would prefer to work with the FTC to implement policies to improve the ticketing industry. We believe the FTC has a fundamental misunderstanding of Ticketmaster's policies and is taking an excessively expansionist view of the BOTS Act," the ticketing company stated.

The news that Ticketmaster is being investigated seemingly pleased netizens, who shared that buying tickets has become "exhausting" due to resellers.

One user (@KRodOfficial) even claimed that artists were responsible, as they overlook the matter.

"I just think we need a whole new system cause the current is clearly not working. Buying tickets has become an exhausting experience," one netizen wrote.

"It is so obvious that the industry itself is behind all of this, otherwise they would have put a stop to this a long time ago. There are various solutions for this, but they don't bother. It's greed, plain and simple. Artists should be held responsible as well. They too have the power to change this but choose not to," another X user wrote.

Similar to Ticketmaster, last month, the FTC sued Key Investment Group

Key Investment Group, the Maryland-based company, was found using multiple accounts, crossing the 6-ticket purchase limit, and reselling the event tickets at a higher price.

The company even resold Taylor Swift's Eras Tour tickets in 2023. Reuters reported on August 19, 2025, that the Key Investment Group resold 2,280 tickets and made a profit of more than $1.2 million.

In July 2025, Key Investment Group sued the FTC to prevent an investigation. However, last month, the FTC accused the company and three of its executives of violating the Better Online Ticket Sales Act.

A spokesperson from the company told the news outlet that FTC was allegedly misusing the law to target "legitimate businesses and consumers" instead of malicious software.

"In an unprecedented move, the FTC has twisted the intent of the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act, a law designed to target malicious software, into a weapon against legitimate businesses and consumers," they stated.

Stay tuned for more updates on Ticketmaster.