The warning comes as the agency and the Justice Department are inquiring about unfair practices in the entertainment and live concert industries.
Ahead of the 2025 NFL season, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sent a letter to StubHub, the largest ticket exchange and resale business in the United States, calling for strict compliance with the agency’s new Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees, the FTC said in a statement on May 14.
The rule, which went into effect on May 12, requires live-ticket events and short-term rentals to include pricing information in their advertisements and other offers to disclose all mandatory fees upfront.
The only exception to the rule is that total prices do not have to show costs such as shipping, government charges, and taxes, which can be disclosed later, but before asking for payment.
However, “after the Rule went into effect, one or more price displays on StubHub’s website, www.stubhub.com, including its mobile website display, appear to have misrepresented the price of tickets in violation of the Fees Rule,” the May 14 letter said.
“We have identified instances in which StubHub’s displayed ticket prices do not include all mandatory fees and charges,” it said. “The mandatory fees and charges StubHub has omitted from its price displays, such as fulfillment fees and service fees, do not appear to be covered by any permissible exemption.”
The letter stated that the agency “strongly” encouraged StubHub to soon bring all of the company’s ads, displays, and offers into compliance with the new rules.
FTC warned that violations can lead to civil penalties of up to $53,088 per violation as well as federal enforcement action.
“Given the high volume of traffic and sales expected across ticketing platforms tonight with the release of the NFL schedule for the 2025 season, we note that each failure to comply with the Fees Rule is a separate violation that may be subject to civil penalties,” the FTC said.
The NFL schedule for the 2025 season was published on Wednesday.
Chris Mufarrige, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said companies have already been provided with “sufficient time” to prepare for compliance with the new regulations and update their advertising.
“As this letter shows, the Commission will not allow companies to circumvent the rule to gain a competitive advantage.”
The Epoch Times reached out to StubHub for comment.
