Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signed legislation Monday to combat unfair and illegal ticket purchasing and reselling practices. The law will create stiffer penalties for people who use computer software to manipulate systems designed to limit the number of tickets to an event that a person can buy.

These unfairly purchased tickets typically end up resold on ticket marketplace websites for substantially higher prices. Under the new legislation, those who resell tickets they know were obtained using ticket bots will also face new penalties.

“These unscrupulous speculators and their underhanded tactics have manipulated the marketplace and often leave New Yorkers and visitors alike with little choice but to buy tickets on the secondary market at an exorbitant mark-up,” Cuomo said. “It’s predatory, it’s wrong and, with this legislation, we are taking an important step towards restoring fairness and equity back to this multi-billion dollar industry.”

The new legislation expands the definition of ticket purchasing software to include the wide variety of systems used to quickly amass tickets before the general public can access them. It establishes penalties not just for the use of ticket purchasing software, but also for anyone who resells tickets they know were obtained through the use of a ticket bot.

The law also establishes a class A misdemeanor for using ticket bots, maintaining an interest in or control of "bots,” and reselling tickets knowingly obtained with ticket bots. Violators could face substantial fines and imprisonment.

"In recent years, it has become almost impossible to find affordable tickets – or even any tickets at all – for all popular shows," said New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman. "Brokers armed with illegal, high-speed ticket-buying bots have kept too many New Yorkers from attending the shows, sporting events, and cultural experiences that make New York so special."