The Authority imposed fines over prolonged ticket unavailability, partly caused by bots and other automated hoarding tools.

The Italian Competition Authority has imposed a fine of almost 20 million euro on Società Cooperativa Culture (CoopCulture) and tour operators Tiqets International BV, GetYourGuide Deutschland GmbH, Walks LLC, Italy With Family S.r.l., City Wonders Limited and Musement S.p.A. The investigation was launched in July 2023, after the Authority gathered information indicating that the online purchase of tickets to access the Colosseum Archaeological Park was essentially impossible.

CoopCulture, which managed the official ticket sale service for access to the Colosseum from 1997 until 2024, was issued an administrative fine of 7 million euro for knowingly contributing to the substantial and prolonged unavailability of base-priced tickets for entry to the Colosseum. On the one hand, CoopCulture failed to take adequate steps to counter automated ticket hoarding; on the other, it kept a sizeable share of tickets for bundled sales tied to its own educational tours, which generated considerable profits. This resulted in CoopCulture forcing consumers to turn to tour operators and platforms that resold tickets bundled with additional services (such as guided tours, pickup, or priority access) at much higher prices.

Within the same proceedings, the Authority also imposed fines on the six tour operators mentioned above, which used bots or other automated tools to purchase tickets, contributing to the rapid disappearance of base-priced tickets on the website of licensed operator CoopCulture. By doing so, the operators benefited from the constant unavailability of tickets, which left consumers seeking access to the Colosseum with no choice but to purchase them through these channels – often at much higher prices due to the bundling with additional services offered either directly or via other operators.

The Authority found that CoopCulture’s conduct amounts to an unfair commercial practice in breach of article 20, paragraph 2 of the Consumer Code; the conduct put in place by Tiqets International BV, GetYourGuide Deutschland GmbH, Walks LLC, Italy With Family S.r.l., City Wonders Limited and Musement S.p.A. on the other hand, was found to be in violation of articles 24 and 25 of the Code, and – as of 2 April 2023 – also of article 23, paragraph 1, bb-bis) of the same Code.

Rome, 8 April 2025