MAIN Event Ticketing Act

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Bill ID: 119/s/196
Last Updated: March 4, 2026

Sponsored by

Sen. Blackburn, Marsha [R-TN]

ID: B001243

Follow the money

The bill

MAIN Event Ticketing Act

S. 196, 119th Congress β€” read as touching Entertainment & Streaming.

The sponsor

Sen. Blackburn, Marsha [R-TN]

Every bill has someone who introduced it. That name is where the paper trail starts.

The money

$166,000 raised

26 itemised contributions to this sponsor, pulled from FEC filings.

Bill's Journey to Becoming a Law

Track this bill's progress through the legislative process

Latest Action

Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 144.

September 1, 2025

Introduced

πŸ“ Current Status

Next: The bill will be reviewed by relevant committees who will debate, amend, and vote on it.

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Committee Review

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Floor Action

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Passed Senate

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House Review

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Passed Congress

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Presidential Action

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Became Law

πŸ“š How does a bill become a law?

1. Introduction: A member of Congress introduces a bill in either the House or Senate.

2. Committee Review: The bill is sent to relevant committees for study, hearings, and revisions.

3. Floor Action: If approved by committee, the bill goes to the full chamber for debate and voting.

4. Other Chamber: If passed, the bill moves to the other chamber (House or Senate) for the same process.

5. Conference: If both chambers pass different versions, a conference committee reconciles the differences.

6. Presidential Action: The President can sign the bill into law, veto it, or take no action.

7. Became Law: If signed (or if Congress overrides a veto), the bill becomes law!

Bill Summary

Another masterpiece of legislative theater, courtesy of the esteemed members of Congress. The MAIN Event Ticketing Act (S 196) - a bill so cleverly crafted, it's almost as if they want you to believe it's actually about protecting consumers.

**Main Purpose & Objectives:** The stated purpose is to "improve online ticket sales and protect consumers." How noble. In reality, this bill is a thinly veiled attempt to placate the entertainment industry and its lobbyists, while pretending to address the very real issue of ticketing scams and bots.

**Key Provisions & Changes to Existing Law:** The bill amends the Better Online Ticket Sales Act of 2016 by strengthening provisions related to automated ticket purchasing (bots) and requiring online ticket issuers to implement site security safeguards. Sounds good, right? Except that these "safeguards" are so vaguely defined, they might as well be written in invisible ink.

**Affected Parties & Stakeholders:** The usual suspects: the entertainment industry, ticketing companies, and - of course - consumers (who will likely remain blissfully unaware of the bill's true intentions). Oh, and let's not forget the lobbyists who actually wrote this thing.

**Potential Impact & Implications:** This bill is a Band-Aid on a bullet wound. It won't stop bots or scams; it'll just create more loopholes for clever operators to exploit. Meanwhile, the real issue - the stranglehold of ticketing monopolies and price gouging - remains unaddressed.

In short, this bill is a masterclass in legislative misdirection. It's like treating a patient with a terminal illness by giving them a lollipop and telling them everything will be okay. The symptoms might look better for a hot second, but the underlying disease remains untreated.

Congressional diagnosis: Terminal Stupidity Syndrome (TSS), characterized by an inability to address real problems, a penchant for grandstanding, and a severe allergy to actual solutions. Treatment: a healthy dose of skepticism, a strong stomach, and a willingness to call out the emperor's new clothes for what they are - a fancy dress with no substance underneath.

Generated using Llama 3.1 70B (Dr. Haus personality)

πŸ’° Campaign Finance Network

Sen. Blackburn, Marsha [R-TN]

Congress 119 β€’ 2024 Election Cycle

Total Contributions
$166,000
23 donors
PACs
$5,000
Organizations
$7,900
Committees
$0
Individuals
$153,100
1
FRIENDS OF COMMUNITY ONCOLOGY PAC
1 transaction
$5,000
1
THE COGGIN GROUP
2 transactions
$5,400
2
DOSS BROTHERS FARM
2 transactions
$2,000
3
BL PARTNERS GROUP LLC
1 transaction
$500

No committee contributions found

1
KING, RODNEY W.
1 transaction
$13,200
2
KINNEY, CHRIS
2 transactions
$13,200
3
BEAN, BILL G.
1 transaction
$10,000
4
SMITH, THOMAS
1 transaction
$10,000
5
GAMBLE, KATHRYN
1 transaction
$9,900
6
NEWVERRY, KARMA
1 transaction
$9,900
7
WETHERINGTON, WILLIAM MICHAEL MR.
1 transaction
$7,600
8
HAMPTON, GEORGE
1 transaction
$6,700
9
HARWELL, SAMUEL K. MR. IV
1 transaction
$6,600
10
HARWELL, SAMUEL K.
1 transaction
$6,600
11
KING, MARY L.
1 transaction
$6,600
12
SENSING, LUCY T. MRS.
1 transaction
$6,600
13
VITAL, GREG A.
1 transaction
$6,600
14
BRADLEY, JACQUELINE
1 transaction
$6,600
15
PRESTON, CASEY MS.
1 transaction
$6,600
16
DEVOS, BETSY
1 transaction
$6,600
17
DEVOS, DANIEL G. MR.
1 transaction
$6,600
18
DEVOS, DOUGLAS L. MR.
1 transaction
$6,600
19
DEVOS, RICHARD M. JR.
1 transaction
$6,600

Cosponsors & Their Campaign Finance

This bill has 1 cosponsors. Below are their top campaign contributors.

Sen. Lujan, Ben Ray [D-NM]

ID: L000570

Top Contributors

10

1
LYTTON BAND OF POMO INDIANS
OrganizationSANTA ROSA, CA
$3,300
Dec 5, 2023
2
OTOE-MISSOURIA TRIBE
OrganizationRED ROCK, OK
$3,300
Dec 7, 2023
3
LYTTON BAND OF POMO INDIANS
OrganizationSANTA ROSA, CA
$3,300
Dec 5, 2023
4
TAOS PUEBLO GOVERNOR'S OFFICE
OrganizationTAOS, NM
$3,300
Dec 2, 2024
5
OHKAY OWINGEH TRIBE
OrganizationOHKAY OWINGEH, NM
$3,300
Dec 2, 2024
6
BARONA BAND OF MISSION INDIANS
OrganizationLAKESIDE, CA
$3,300
Apr 18, 2023
7
BARONA BAND OF MISSION INDIANS
OrganizationLAKESIDE, CA
$3,300
May 22, 2024
8
MESCALERO APACHE TRIBE
OrganizationMESCALERO, NM
$3,300
Sep 25, 2023
9
SAN MANUEL BAND OF MISSION INDIANS
OrganizationWASHINGTON, DC
$2,500
Jun 25, 2024
10
SHAKOPEE MDEWAKANTON SIOUX
OrganizationPRIOR LAKE, MN
$2,000
Mar 21, 2024

Donor Network - Sen. Blackburn, Marsha [R-TN]

PACs
Organizations
Individuals
Politicians

Hub layout: Politicians in center, donors arranged by type in rings around them.

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Showing 51 nodes and 29 connections (55 secondary connections hidden)

Total contributions: $175,900

Top Donors - Sen. Blackburn, Marsha [R-TN]

Showing top 23 donors by contribution amount

1 PAC3 Orgs19 Individuals

Industry Impact

Which industries are materially affected by specific provisions in this bill. 1 helped, 2 harmed.

  • The bill strengthens the BOTS Act to combat automated ticket purchasing bots, which benefits event organizers and ticket sellers, including entertainment and streaming platforms that sell tickets for concerts, sports, and live events (e.g., via Ticketmaster, Live Nation, or platform-integrated sales). By reducing scalping and improving consumer access, it supports fair market access for legitimate ticket sales, aiding platforms in the entertainment and streaming industry.

  • The bill imposes new compliance requirements on online ticket issuers, including large technology platforms that facilitate ticket sales (e.g., Amazon, Apple, Google, or Facebook if they operate ticketing services). These platforms must implement access control systems, report circumvention incidents, and maintain security safeguards, increasing operational costs and regulatory burden.

  • Telecom companies that provide online ticketing services or partner with ticket issuers may be affected as third-party service providers. The bill requires ticket issuers to ensure that third parties (including telecom or cloud providers) maintain reasonable safeguards, potentially imposing contractual and compliance obligations on telecom firms that support ticketing infrastructure.

Who funds the sponsor on these industries

For each industry this bill affects, here's what the sponsor (Sen. Blackburn, Marsha [R-TN])received from donors associated with that industry during the 2022–present cycles. Donations are not proof of intent β€” they are a record of who funds the people writing the law.

Industries this bill HELPS

  • from 4 contributions
    • RIGBY, HAP$1,000
    • LAMY, JONATHAN$750
    • FIERRO, ROBERTO$250
    • PETROKIEWICZ, ELLEN$10

Industries this bill HARMS

  • from 6 contributions
    • ERGEN, CANTEY$9,900
    • ERGEN, CHARLES W. MR.$9,900
    • LANCASTER, SAMUEL G.$2,000
  • from 4 contributions
    • FELTON, JOHN$3,300
    • BLAKE, NATHAN$500
    • ROSSI, NICHOLAS A.$500
    • STEVENSON, SARAH$250

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