Italy fines seven firms £17m for price fixing of tickets for Rome’s Colosseum

An Italian ticketing company and six tour operators have been fined almost €20m (£17m) over illegal practices that made it difficult for regular visitors to access Rome’s Colosseum at the standard cost, including using software bots to hoard tickets and sell them at higher prices.

Italy’s antitrust authority, AGCM, said the hoarding practice made it “essentially impossible” to buy tickets for the Roman amphitheatre online.

The Colosseum is among the most popular landmarks in the world. More than 12 million people visited it in 2024.

AGCM said it had fined CoopCulture, which managed official ticket sales for the site between 1997 and 2024, €7m for “knowingly contributing to the substantial and prolonged unavailability” of standard-priced tickets.

“On the one hand, CoopCulture failed to take adequate steps to counter automated ticket hoarding,” it said in a statement. “On the other, it kept a sizeable share of tickets for bundled sales tied to its own educational tours, which generated considerable profits.”

This meant customers were forced to turn to tour operators and online platforms which resold tickets at higher tickets, bundling them with additional services such as guided tours, pickups from hotels and priority access.

The remainder of the fine was handed out to six tours operators based in Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and Ireland, which scooped up tickets in bulk using software bots and other tools, contributing to their rapid disappearance from CoopCulture’s website.

AGCM said: “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 did not say how much people ended up paying for entrance to the Colosseum as a result of the illegal practices. The website for the monument, which is operated by Italy’s culture ministry, lists the basic ticket price for adults at €18. That gives tourists 20 minutes to explore the amphitheatre’s main floor. A “full experience” ticket costs €24 and gives visitors access to the wider Colosseum archaeological park, including the ruins of the Roman forum, imperial forums and Palatine hill.

A visitor cap was imposed in 2019, limiting numbers to 3,000 at any given time. Among those visiting on Tuesday afternoon will be King Charles and Queen Camilla, who are on a four-day state visit to Italy.