California lawmakers yesterday voted to preserve “paperless tickets -- which can be redeemed only at the venue, only by the purchaser,” according to Hannah Karp of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. The preliminary vote is “seen [as] a blow to StubHub." Because paperless tickets “can't be transferred or resold, StubHub says they are a threat to its business of reselling tickets in the secondary market.” The original bill “would have banned paperless tickets.” But due to “fierce opposition from committee members in a hearing Tuesday, the bill was heavily amended and now leaves the door open for paperless ticketing to proliferate.” The new version “passed by a committee vote simply penalizes the use of the software some scalpers use to gobble up tickets before fans get a chance.” Yesterday's move “applies only to ticket sales in California, but potentially sets a precedent that could hurt StubHub's ongoing efforts in other states.” New York is the “only state with a law that restricts paperless ticketing.” A proposed ban on paperless ticketing is “making headway in New Jersey but not yet written into law.” California's preliminary vote “still has to be approved by the full California legislature and the governor” (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 4/24).
