US Laws, Codes, Statutes & Cases

578.395. 1. Any person, firm, or corporation who resells or offers to resell any ticket for admission, or any other evidence of the right of entry, to any public sporting event for a price in excess of the price printed on the ticket is guilty of the offense of ticket scalping. For purposes of this section, if a seller requires, as a precondition of the resale of a ticket, the purchase or rental of other goods or services at a price in excess of the fair market value of such goods or services, the excess amount shall be deemed to be part of the purchase price of the ticket.

2. Nothing in this section shall prohibit nor shall be deemed to prohibit a seller, with consent of the sponsor of such sporting event, from collecting a reasonable service charge from a ticket purchaser in return for services actually rendered.

3. Any person violating this section upon conviction shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, except as provided in subsection 4 of this section, shall be punished as follows:

(1) For the first offense, by a fine of not less than fifty dollars nor more than three hundred dollars or by imprisonment in the county jail for a term of not less than fifteen days;

(2) For the second offense, by a fine of not less than three hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars or by imprisonment in the county jail for a term of not less than sixty days nor more than six months;

(3) For the third and each subsequent offense, by a fine of not less than five hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars or imprisonment in the county jail for a term of not less than six months nor more than one year.

4. In lieu of any fine imposed under subsection 3 of this section, the court may invoke the provisions of subsection 2 of section 560.016, RSMo, against any person convicted of a second or subsequent offense of this section.

(L. 1989 S.B. 215 & 58 § 8, A.L. 1993 S.B. 180)