Mediaset's Le Iene Exposes Ticket Scalping at Colosseum

The Italian TV program Le Iene, aired shortly before Christmas 2016, exposed a ticket scalping scheme at the Colosseum in Rome. Filippo Roma's investigation revealed that group tour bookings on the official CoopCulture website are unavailable until June 2017 because travel agencies snap up all slots within hours. Agencies buy tickets at €12 each, then form impromptu groups outside the monument, selling mandatory guided tours at €25–30 per person—a markup of €13–18. This forces tourists, even those arriving with their own guides from abroad, to pay extra. CoopCulture states it releases 60% of guided tour slots in advance, which are bought by international operators and agencies using multiple IPs and accounts to bypass purchase limits. Another quota is released monthly, with a daily reserve at ticket offices to prevent scalping. The company suggests enclosing the square as part of the paid area to control access, but the monument is state-owned while the square belongs to the City of Rome, creating bureaucratic hurdles.