Olivia PowellThe Supreme Court of Austria (OGH) has ordered ticket reseller Viagogo to better inform its buyers about the identity of ticket sellers and the type of ticket being sold before they make a purchase via the site.
The ruling forces viagogo.at and any other Viagogo or similar websites that serve Austria to disclose information including the name and address of ticket sellers and whether tickets are personalised, ahead of ticket purchase.
The verdict also means that customers in Austria are protected from losses caused by misleading or the absence of information by sellers, such as travel costs when access to the show is denied, for the first time.
Additionally, the platform will be held accountable if it doesn’t ensure sellers’ compliance with the registration and the disclosure of their identities.
Until the ruling, tickets on secondary platforms operating in Austria were sold anonymously, with buyers not informed when tickets were personalised, often leading buyers to be denied access to events.
The case against Viagogo was brought by the trade body for sports and leisure companies of the Upper Austrian Chamber of Commerce through the competition protection association, WSV, on the basis of the significantly inflated prices for tickets sold on Viagogo for cabaret events by Monika Gruber and Viktor Gernot, organised by Austrian events agency, Stage.