[4] It was founded in London in 2006 by Eric Baker as an amateur online marketplace for consumers to buy and re-sell tickets to sports, music, theatre and comedy events.The controversial business model of the company has always been in the headlines.

[21] With Baker as CEO,[22] Viagogo raised £30 million in August 2007 from investors including Brent Hoberman, Bernard Arnault, Jacob Rothschild,[13] and Index Ventures.

Viagogo was also an official resale partner of Michael Jackson, Lloyd-Webber's Really Useful Group,[18] and the ATP World Tour Finals.

[39] In December, Viagogo entered the Portuguese market through a partnership with soccer club FC Porto, joining Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain in "partnering the ticket marketplace" at the time.

[26] After a website "glitch" reportedly overcharged dozens of UK customers, in 2017 Viagogo was criticized for allegedly denying prompt refunds.

[46] In February 2018, Viagogo was found to have been marketing tickets for a non-existent performance by a Hungarian stand-up comedian for about twice the normal price.

[51] In March 2019, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport warned consumers not to buy or sell tickets through Viagogo.

[65] In early 2020, the live events industry was shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic,[60] with Viagogo Group significantly reducing its Limerick, Ireland workforce as a result.

[58] Viagogo took on a $330 million loan in late 2020 in response to the industry shutdowns, allowing the company "to operate with little to no revenue" until 2022 if needed, according to Moody's.

[67] In July 2022, Viagogo and StubHub announced that they would be closing their San Francisco and Shanghai offices by 2023, with a new focus to be placed on Los Angeles and New York.

[74][neutrality is disputed] In 2018, a CMA order dictated that Viagogo's UK portal include all-in pricing to make the platform more transparent to customers.

[75] At that time of the CMA order, customers were presented with several messages about tickets being about to run out and in the user interface, the "continue" button jumped and a timer kept counting down.

According to executive Chris Miller, the messages were intended to show customers they were visiting a "dynamic market place" and helped buyers "make an informed decision".

[74][neutrality is disputed] In January 2008, The Telegraph wrote that Viagogo and Stubhub and its "rivals at Seatwave and Get Me In...introduced a level of respectability...to a business that until recently was dominated by rogue traders who sold tickets...at vastly inflated prices," in the UK.

[23] In later years, Viagogo has been criticized for allowing sellers to set prices at extremely high markups, as well as other sales practices.

In 2016, the UEFA filed a criminal complaint in France against Viagogo for ticket sales of the Euro 2016 football game,[81] and in December 2017, France’s Directorate-General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) ordered Viagogo to end "deception" in its sales practices, including "drip pricing".

[84] In August 2018, the New Zealand Commerce Commission sued Viagogo for alleged breaches of the Fair Trading Act (FTA), particularly false and misleading representations.

[85] In 2020, Viagogo announced changes to its New Zealand website to align with Commerce Commission standards, including an upfront estimation of all fees.

[86] In 2021, complaints were received by the agency WellingtonNZ concerning Viagogo overpricing tickets to the musical Jersey Boys and the art event Van Gogh Alive.

Viagogo lost the initial trial and an appeal in the lower courts in December 2011,[101] resulting in the issuing of a Norwich Pharmacal order.

[105][106] The UK Government's Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee opened an inquiry into ticket abuse in November 2017.

[108] Soon thereafter, the UK's Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries, Margot James, called Viagogo "the worst" on BBC Radio 5 Live for lack of clarity concerning fees and charges, advising listeners not to use the service.

[110] In August 2018, the UK Competition & Markets Authority confirmed it would be seeking court action against Viagogo following concerns that it is breaching consumer protection law.

[111] In November that year, CMA stated that Viagogo had agreed to a "comprehensive overhaul" by January 2019 in order to improve transparency and strengthen guarantees to consumers.