Stuart WoodThe world of secondary ticketing has been full of twists over the past year. There have been lawsuits, counter-lawsuits, accusations, petitions and plenty of words exchanged on either side of the fence.
Following the news today that Viagogo has agreed to comply with new regulations by the Competition and Markets Authority, you can find below a timeline of everything that has occurred to get you up to speed:
November 2017 – Following an investigation into the secondary ticketing sector, the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) begins enforcement against Stubhub, GET ME IN!, Seatwave and Viagogo
April 2018 – All the above sites except Viagogo offer formal commitments to overhaul their business
May 2018 – Ed Sheeran promoters Kilimanjaro Live announce that any re-sold tickets purchased for Sheeran’s stadium tour through Viagogo will be invalid. Thousands of tickets are cancelled; Kilimanjaro says they refunded the cancelled tickets
12 July – The UK government bans ticket bots in new legislation which mounts pressure on secondary ticketing sites. Ireland follows suit soon after
13 August – Ticketmaster shuts down Seatwave and GET ME IN!, launching their own fan to fan ticket exchange service in their place. They say shutting down Seatwave and GET ME IN! was “always [our] long term plan”
31 August – The CMA announces it is suing Viagogo over concerns it is breaking consumer protection law, after the company fails to address the issues outlined by the CMA in November
4 September – Viagogo launches a counter-lawsuit against Kilimanjaro, claiming it knowingly sold tickets on Viagogo, and was paid twice by fans who re-bought cancelled tickets. Viagogo claims it refunded the cancelled tickets itself. Kilimanjaro calls these claims “ludicrous, laughable and most important – totally false”
5 September – Viagogo refuses to attend a parliament hearing on secondary ticketing, saying it could compromise their lawsuit against Kilimanjaro. Damian Collins MP describes their non-attendance as a ‘gross discourtesy’
10 September – Fanfair Alliance publishes an open letter to Google, demanding action is taken against ‘misleading’ Viagogo. It is signed by a number of high-profile industry figures and groups including the Football Association, Lawn Tennis Association, Concert Promoters Association and more