Sponsors push bill to ban third‑party 'reservation scalping' after restaurants report bulk hoarding and resale

Senate Bill 169, introduced by Sen. Fabian Donate, would bar third‑party reservation platforms from listing and reselling restaurant reservations or appointment slots in Nevada without explicit written permission from the business and would make such conduct subject to enforcement under the state’s deceptive‑trade‑practices law.

Peter Saba of the Nevada Restaurant Association and Golden Steer co‑CEO Nick McMillan told the committee that automated tools and resale marketplaces are hoarding reservations and reselling them at prices well above zero, disrupting restaurant operations and creating consumer confusion. Saba showed screenshots from appointmenttrader.com that list high bid amounts and site‑level purchase totals; Saba and Donate argued the practice both misleads customers and harms restaurants’ ability to manage service.

"We found one of these accounts in our reservation system that had somewhere between 40 and 50 reservations for dinners in a 5 week period," McMillan said, describing how bulk reservations held by scalpers created no‑shows and complications at the host stand. He and other presenters said the activity is frequently automated, uses bots to capture high‑demand slots and then resells those slots on secondary sites.

SB 169 would require a written agreement before a reservation platform may list a restaurant’s reservations; exempt legitimate platforms that provide free, nontransferable confirmations and that honor opt outs; and allow civil remedies and penalties for deceptive listings. The sponsor said he expects a proposed amendment to place enforcement within Nevada’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act and to permit affected restaurants to pursue private claims in addition to state enforcement.

Support for the bill included the Vegas Chamber and a range of restaurant operators. The Nevada DMV testified neutral; its representative confirmed the DMV has seen appointment resale activity and encouraged use of its online services. TechNet testified neutral and said it appreciated the sponsor’s willingness to work on an amendment.

Committee members asked about enforcement and cross‑jurisdictional issues—many platforms operate outside Nevada or abroad—and whether existing scalping or consumer‑protection laws already address the conduct. The sponsor and backers cited New York’s recent statute limiting similar activity as precedent and said including deceptive‑trade‑practices enforcement would give the attorney general and local prosecutors a civil enforcement tool. No committee vote was recorded in the transcript.

Proponents said the bill protects both consumers and small businesses by restoring restaurants’ control over their reservation systems; opponents were not present in force at the hearing. The committee closed the hearing with the sponsor and stakeholders continuing to work on technical language and enforcement options.