TicketOne has won its legal battle against Italy’s antirust authority AGCM after it requested a fine to be overturned.
The Lazio Regional Administrative Court ruled in favour of Eventim-owned TicketOne’s request to cancel the fine that was issued by the A.G.C.M.
Five operators had been sanctioned in April last year, including TicketOne, Viagogo, Ticketbis, MyWayticket and Seatwave, which, overall, would have had to pay €1.7m (£1.5m/$2m). The AGCM had alleged violations of the Consumer Code, in relation to the sale of tickets for the so-called ‘hot events’ held in Italy in recent years.The antitrust authority claimed that the companies had not prevented the circulation of tickets on the secondary market and had therefore caused injury to consumers.
TicketOne appealed the AGCM’s fine and now the Lazio court has backed TicketOne’s suggestion that it has always operated with “utmost care and diligence” and that its business conduct did not favour the secondary market. 
Stefano Lionetti, chief executive of TicketOne, said: “We have always distanced ourselves from unlawful and speculative business practices that occur within the secondary ticketing market.
“Therefore, we are very satisfied that the Court confirmed that the allegations made against us were wrongful. Over and above, the ruling underlines that our company has always operated with transparency and professionalism.”
The court also looked into A.G.C.M.’s assumptions regarding bots, though TicketOne claims it has high security standards in place. The company said it deploys mechanisms at both network level and application level that are designed to prevent bot attacks as far as possible.
TicketOne has promised it will expand its efforts against speculative ticket resale. The company asks fans and concertgoers not to purchase tickets from secondary market sites and to only make use of licensed ticket sellers and official dealers.
Image: TicketOne
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