Access All Areas (06/13/22) Barrett, Christopher

Adam Webb, campaign manager at FanFair Alliance, says the U.K. government and industry should crack down on ticket resellers, noting that Viagogo holds "an unassailable monopoly in uncapped ticket resale." The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has not come through in terms of enforcement, with Webb criticizing its 2019 declaration that Viagogo was compliant with ticket resale regulations when the opposite was the case. "After taking so many steps forward since FanFair was founded in mid-2016, we've now gone one or two back," he contends. "With live shows returning en masse, this is the last thing anyone needs — especially as the 'fixes' to rampant online ticket touting are relatively straightforward." Webb recommends four actions, the first being proper promotion by promoters, ticket companies and artists at the point of sale that tickets are for "consumers only" and not for "traders or commercial resellers." Google also has a responsibility to take action, by no longer accepting advertising from rogue companies, and by making a better effort to direct users to "official" sources of tickets. The third action involves having CMA amend its court order to make Viagogo liable for tickets listed by "traders" on their platform. The fourth step calls for the government to accept the authority's 2021 recommendation to strengthen ticket resale laws; alternatively the government could ban resale above face value outright.

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