Most fest tickets on Viagogo sold by three traders

Just three people are responsible for over two thirds of UK festival and outdoor event tickets listed by resale platform Viagogo, according to a new report.

An investigation by ITV News, based on research carried out by anti-touting campaign group FanFair Alliance, found that fewer than 10% of tickets on the secondary ticketing site were being sold by ordinary consumers.

Analysis of more than 11,000 tickets from 174 events over a three-month period revealed that over two-thirds were being sold by just three “traders” for a combined total of £1.7 million – almost £1m above face value.

The report found evidence of so-called “speculative” tickets – which sellers do not yet possess – being illegally offered for sale.

The investigation contacted 10 festivals being listed by the three traders, with two saying the sellers had bought nowhere near the number of tickets being advertised, and the rest saying they had no record of them buying any tickets at all. One of the traders’ listings have since been removed from Viagogo’s website.

“We treat concerns about tickets with the utmost priority”

“We treat concerns about tickets with the utmost priority,” says a spokesperson for Viagogo. “In this instance, we acted swiftly to remove the relevant listings and have returned several to the site that have clearly demonstrated that they are legitimate and valid.

“We continue to review the remaining listings and these remain off site.”

Viagogo was fined €23.5 million by Italy’s Communications Regulatory Authority AGCOM in June for breaking the country’s rules on secondary ticketing.

The decision followed an investigation by Italy’s financial crime enforcement agency the Guardia di Finanza, which found the platform had listed tickets for 131 events at prices up to six or seven times above their face-value. Viagogo responded that since it had already been held a ‘passive’ intermediary platform by the Council of State in a previous final judgment, it was confident the fines would be annulled on appeal.

Earlier, in May, Australia’s full federal court dismissed Viagogo’s appeal against a ruling that it had made misleading claims on its website relating to the reselling of concert and sports tickets.

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