MLB Ticketing App Lawsuit: Fans Say Ballpark App Exposed Personal Data

Case Overview: A class action lawsuit accuses MLB Advanced Media of failing to protect fan data in its Ballpark app, allegedly leading to stolen tickets, hacked accounts, and financial losses.

Consumers Affected: MLB fans nationwide who purchased, stored, or transferred tickets through the Ballpark app during the 2025 season and experienced missing or compromised tickets.

Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

Major League Baseball’s ticketing platform fails to safeguard fans’ personal information and game tickets, a new lawsuit claims. 

The lawsuit alleges MLB Advanced Media, which operates the league’s digital ticketing system, allowed widespread breaches of its popular Ballpark app that left fans with missing tickets, compromised accounts, and potential exposure of sensitive data.

The lawsuit alleges that MLB did not implement basic cybersecurity protections, like two-factor authentication or transfer delays, and then failed to notify users when accounts were hacked. 

Fans across the country reportedly found tickets disappearing from their digital wallets during the 2025 season, forcing many to repurchase seats or miss part of the games they’d traveled to see. 

Despite repeated complaints, the league has not publicly confirmed a data breach, leaving users uncertain whether their personal details, such as names, addresses, or payment information, were also stolen, the lawsuit claims.

Chicago Cubs Fan Says Disappearing Tickets Led to Stress and Financial Loss

The complaint was filed by Illinois resident James Lanham, who purchased Chicago Cubs tickets through the MLB Ballpark app ahead of a 2025 home game at Wrigley Field. 

On game day, his tickets vanished from the app forcing him to buy new ones and spend hours after the game trying to secure a refund, the lawsuit claims. Weeks later, Lanham received a notice suggesting his account may have been “subject to unauthorized intrusion.” He says the experience caused not just financial loss but hours of stress as he reviewed accounts and credit statements for signs of identity theft.

Lanham’s case mirrors reports from fans in multiple cities, including Boston, New York, Washington, Baltimore, and Chicago, who described identical problems in online forums, the lawsuit alleges. 

Others said MLB clubs sent inconsistent email alerts about “unusual activity” or “unauthorized transactions,” while many fans never received a warning at all.

Lawsuit Claims MLB Ignored Reports of Stolen Tickets and Weak Security

MLB Advanced Media, a subsidiary that generates hundreds of millions annually, touts its Ballpark app as the safe and simple way to buy, store, and transfer digital tickets. But according to the lawsuit, the platform’s security lags far behind industry standards. 

The app collects a wide range of personal information, from names and birthdates to location and device data, yet allegedly lacked even the most basic safeguards to protect that data from hackers.

The complaint says MLB ignored red flags as fans reported stolen tickets throughout the 2025 season, and that the company’s response, quietly resetting passwords and deflecting blame onto users, was insufficient. Experts say the exposed information could be valuable for cybercriminals, increasing fans’ risk of fraud and identity theft.

Data Breaches Plague Range of Industries

MLB isn’t the only major company facing legal action over alleged cybersecurity failures. Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America is also under fire, with multiple class action lawsuits accusing it of failing to protect the personal information of roughly 1.4 million policyholders. 

And Victoria’s Secret is facing its own legal battle following a May 2025 breach that allegedly revealed customer information due to lax cybersecurity practices. Meanwhile, Cooper University Health Care in New Jersey and insurance provider Globe Life are defending similar lawsuits. 

In his lawsuit, Lanham is seeking to represent all U.S. users whose tickets were stolen or compromised through the MLB Ballpark app in 2025. The lawsuit accuses MLB of negligence, breach of implied contract, unjust enrichment, and violations of state consumer protection laws, and for that Lanham is seeking damages, injunctive relief, fees, costs, and interest.

Case Details

• Lawsuit: Lanham v. MLB Advanced Media, L.P.
• Case Number: 1:25-cv-07780  
• Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York 

Plaintiffs' Attorney:

• Blake Hunter Yagman (Spiro Harrison & Nelson LLC)

Have your MLB Ballpark tickets ever disappeared or failed to load on game day? Tell us what happened in the comments below.