Anne Marie D. Lee is an editor for CBS MoneyWatch. She writes about topics including personal finance, the workplace, travel and social media.

The Federal Trade Commission and state prosecutors on Thursday filed a joint lawsuit against Live Nation Entertainment and Ticketmaster accusing the event services of allowing brokers to scoop up event tickets and resell them at inflated prices, costing consumers billions of dollars.

In a legal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the regulatory agency also alleged that Live Nation, which owns Ticketmaster, used "bait-and-switch pricing" tactics by advertising lower ticket prices than what was actually available to customers, and by selling millions of tickets to brokers -- often at a significant markup -- despite limits that artists had placed on such sales.

"The FTC alleges that in public, Ticketmaster maintains that its business model is at odds with brokers that routinely exceed ticket limits," the agency said in a news release. "But in private, Ticketmaster acknowledged that its business model and bottom line benefit from brokers preventing ordinary Americans from purchasing tickets to the shows they want to see at the prices artists set."

The agency said Live Nation's and Ticketmaster's business practices violate the Better Online Ticket Sales Act and other laws barring deceptive sales tactics.

Joining the FTC suit were attorneys general in Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Nebraska, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia.

"It should not cost an arm and a leg to take the family to a baseball game or attend your favorite musician's show," FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson said in a statement.

From 2019 to 2024, consumers spent nearly $83 billion buying tickets through Ticketmaster, the FTC said. The platform controls at least 80% of the tickets sold by major event venues, according to the agency.

Live Nation, based in Beverly Hills, Calif., and Ticketmaster didn't immediately reply to a request for comment.

In May, the Department of Justice filed a federal lawsuit accusing the two companies of illegally monopolizing the live entertainment industry. The suit alleged that Live Nation has violated antitrust laws in ways that hurt consumers, in part through its ownership of Ticketmaster.

FTC accuses Live Nation and Ticketmaster of illegally reselling event tickets