New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed legislation making the use of online “ticket bots,” which automatically buy up bulk amounts of concert and events tickets, illegal. The use of the bots was formerly a misdemeanor that incurred a monetary fine, while the new law criminalizes the use of the software, with offenders possibly facing jail time.

As The Verge reports, there has been a recent effort to fight the use of the ticket bots, further ignited by a New York Times op-ed by Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda called “Stop the Bots From Killing Broadway.” Other recent on-sale events like the Temple of the Dog reunion tour and Phish’s New Year’s run at Madison Square Garden have also drawn a fair amount of backlash from ticket buyers.

In the official statement from Cuomo about the new law and the underlying issue, the governor called the use of the software “predatory”:

“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 says. “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.”

Cuomo named Attorney General Eric Schneiderman as a main sponsor of the “much-needed measure.” Schneiderman, in turn, lamented, “In recent years, it has become almost impossible to find affordable tickets – or even any tickets at all – for all popular shows.”

“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,” Schneiderman continues. “I was honored to work with Governor Cuomo, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Assemblyman Crespo, and Senator Lanza and to pass this new law which will go a long way to finally bringing sanity—and fairness—to the ticket buying process.”