Dive Brief:

• Congress passed the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act Wednesday, making the act of using software bots to buy large quantities of events tickets illegal, according to ARS Technica.

• Bots are often used to bypass computer security systems designed to limit ticket sales to various events so resellers can buy large quantities and then sell them at huge mark ups.

• The bill now proceeds to President Barack Obama for his signature. If the bill becomes law, violators would be subject to prosecution by the Federal Trade Commission or the states, according to the report. 

Dive Insight:

You may finally be able to get those tickets to Hamilton you've been dying for. Today's bots can be used for a multitude of purposes, some of which take advantage of the ease of automation. Bots that purchase large quantities of tickets and then allow groups or companies to resell them at huge markups have been a frustration to the concert and events industries for years.

Congress wants to ensure access to live events, and deny ticket-hoarders that have software that allows them to dramatically mark up tickets.

Earlier this year, an investigation by the New York Attorney General’s office found tickets purchased by bots were marked up an average of 49%.