Viagogo: Agcom blocks the website. Crackdown on unpaid fines
Access from Italia to the concert ticket resale platform has been blocked for the first time
The accumulation of unpaid fines has led to a blocking order. AGCOM has asked telephone operators to block access to viagogo.it from Italia. And indeed, yesterday the site was inaccessible, following an operation that marks a first for a secondary ticketing site – the market for reselling tickets.
After years of fines for offering vouchers at inflated prices, the Authority is changing tack. The order has now been issued to block access from our country.
This measure has been made possible by a provision included in the 2025 Energy Bills Decree. The mechanism links the suspension to the non-payment of AGCOM fines totalling at least one million euros. There is one crucial condition: the fines must be final, either because the time limit for challenging them has expired or because the appeal has been concluded with a final judgement. In effect, this is the first time this measure has been applied to combat online ticket touting.
“This measure,” AGCOM Commissioner Massimiliano Capitanio told *Il Sole 24 Ore*, “is important because it rounds off a series of actions taken by the Authority to uphold a simple, yet often overlooked, principle: national laws must be respected. This applies all the more to companies – often digital ones – that believe selling services in Italia does not require compliance with our regulations.” AGCOM, Capitanio continues, “thanks to the invaluable work of its departments and the Guardia di Finanza, takes action to protect minors, tackle gambling, combat copyright infringement, address online hate speech and, as is even more evident today, tackle secondary ticketing.”
Taking into account all the penalties imposed, the Revenue Agency is due to collect €53.4 million from the company. This total comprises €48.6 million for measures relating to the period 2020–2023, including surcharges and interest, and a penalty of €4.86 million imposed in November 2024. The latter has not yet been entered in the tax register. The other four were entered in the register on 10 July 2024.
