North Carolina’s investigation into problems with Ticketmaster’s ticket sales for Carolina Hurricanes playoff games remains active as fans prepare for Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final. The review was launched after season-ticket holders said they received priority access codes for presale tickets but were still unable to secure seats.
According to complaints shared with WRAL and the state Department of Justice, some fans said their access codes did not work as intended. Others reported being placed in long virtual queues, only to be removed from the line and sent back to the end. By the time they returned to the ticket portal, many available tickets were already gone. Several fans said they were then forced to turn to the resale market, where prices were far higher.
The NCDOJ said it has received 37 complaints connected to Hurricanes ticket sales, including some from previous seasons, along with four complaints related to FIFA World Cup ticket sales. Attorney General Jeff Jackson opened the inquiry after Hurricanes season-ticket holders said they could not buy tickets during the presale even though they had priority access. Fans described technical problems, long waits in Ticketmaster’s virtual queue and being pushed to the back of the line before tickets sold out.
Bailey Aldridge, a spokesperson for the NCDOJ, said Ticketmaster has responded to the state’s inquiry and is reviewing the attorney general’s questions. The company told investigators that some of the issues may have been caused by exceptionally high demand for Stanley Cup Final tickets. Ticketmaster also said it plans to provide more information about how it monitors and responds to bots, which fans have cited as a possible factor in their inability to buy tickets despite having presale codes.
Aldridge said Ticketmaster also explained that resale prices are set in a separate marketplace and are typically driven by what buyers are willing to pay. That response comes as many fans say they were left with no option but to purchase tickets on resale platforms for thousands of dollars after failing to get seats through the original sale.
The investigation is ongoing, and Ticketmaster is expected to provide additional answers to state officials in the coming days. For now, questions remain about whether the problems were caused by technical failures, overwhelming demand, bot activity or a combination of factors. The case has drawn attention because it involves one of North Carolina’s most popular sports teams during a major playoff run and has raised broader concerns about fairness, access and transparency in online ticket sales.
