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Industry figures want ministers to follow Ireland and France’s lead and stop touts from making huge mark-ups 
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Viagogo can go ahead with its £3bn acquisition of rival StubHub, the CMA says.
Graham Watson's insight:
After much wrangling, and divestment activity, Viagogo has been given the go-ahead to acquire StubHub. The Competition and Markets Authority are of the view that despite the new firm having substantial market power, this shouldn't adverse affect consumer interests.
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The UK's competition watchdog says the merger between the ticketing firms could lead to higher fees.
Graham Watson's insight:
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) have ruled that the proposed Viagogo-StubHub merger cannot go ahead as the firms would like, because of a fear of the merger resulting in a lack of choice.
As a result the CMA have insisted that Viagogo should spin-off StubHub's international business, apart from its US interests. This illustrates the extent to which the regulatory authorities oversee of all aspects of a merger.
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Ticket reseller Viagogo has been threatened with another court appearance by Britain's competition watchdog.
Graham Watson's insight:
Viagogo are in the spotlight again - as the Competition and Markets Authority are thinking about taking them to court for breaking consumer protection law.
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Resale site customers who were refused entry to concerts could get refunds following court order
Graham Watson's insight:
A follow-up to the news that the competition authorities have got compliance from all of the major players in the secondary ticketing market as regards improving information. It also transpires that a recent court order seems to imply that people who've bought tickets on the secondary market and then been refused entry to a concert are going to be entitled to refunds.
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The ticket reselling site has repeatedly failed to make changes demanded, the competition regulator says.
Graham Watson's insight:
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) are taking Viagogo to court because they've failed to comply with regulatory direction, and change their business model.
The CMA is looking for an interim enforcement order at the High Court tomorrow.
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The reseller fails to give consumers better information about the tickets it sells on, the CMA says.
Graham Watson's insight:
Will the regulator show some teeth? The secondary ticketing site Viagogo has failed to fully comply with Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) recommendations and is facing up to the fact that it might now face legal action.
This is a relatively rare turn of events, although the issue of reselling tickets is a vexed one. Do touts reduce or enhance efficiency in markets? There's more of a case to be made for the latter than you might think.
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Analysis found listings for tickets for artists such as Adele and Coldplay did not include any details of sellers
Graham Watson's insight:
Oh dear! It seems that StubHub might be falling short of its commitment to the Competition and Markets Authority in disclosing when tickets on its site are being sold by professional ticket touts.
The company itself has denied these claims, although a Guardian investigation seems to suggest that the same tickets have been advertised on Viagogo and StubHub, with their provenance only appearing on the former.
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The UK's competition watchdog is calling for stronger laws to act quickly against touts.
Graham Watson's insight:
Another competition policy story, with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) still concerned about the secondary ticketing market, arguing that it is still too easy for touts to operate in the market.
The CMA have already taken action against two of the major players in the market - Viagogo and StubHub - who've been accused of anti-competitive practices, and both have since made changes to the way they operate.
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The secondary ticketing site has improved its communication with customers, the competition watchdog said.
Graham Watson's insight:
The secondary ticketing market has been scrutinised by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and Viagogo have been among the slowest firms to respond.
However, they are now complying with the demands of the CMA and this should act in consumers' interests.
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Viagogo insists it has improved its practices but campaigners say it is failing to comply with the law.
Graham Watson's insight:
The secondary ticketing market is an intriguing one, and still, despite the efforts of the regulators, a little bit murky.
Previously, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has tried to tighten up the resale of tickets, although campaigners aren't convinced that it's complied with the demands of the competition authorities.
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A court instructs the ticket reseller to warn buyers if there is a risk of being turned away at the door.
Graham Watson's insight:
The ongoing dispute between Viagogo and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) appears to have been resolved. For now.
The competition authorities have argued that the secondary market for tickets has been bedevilled by imperfect information, and as a result has been operating against the public interest. Other secondary ticketing sites have already complied with the demands of the CMA.
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Margot James tells consumers to boycott ticket reseller after it fails to change its policies.
Graham Watson's insight:
The issue of secondary ticketing is raised in this BBC piece that highlights the fact that these sites have been accused of failing to react to regulatory intervention in relation to advertising.
Viagogo, in particular, stands accused of failing to make additional charges clear and all economists should know that a lack of perfect information is likely to distort market outcomes, and situations with asymmetric information are likely to be exploited by the firm.
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The issue of secondary ticketing is a vexed one. Is it profiteering, or is it helping markets operate more efficiently, in getting tickets into the hands of those people who value them the most and who are prepared to pay the most for them?
In this case, music industry figures are calling for the government to legislate, bringing the UK in line with Ireland and France, to ban ticket resellers from making profit in reselling tickets. However, touts would simply say that they are helping markets clear.