From Gen Con’s March 29th, 2019 newsletter (Gen Con at Indianapolis August 1-4, 2019):
Gamers in the WA State Senate
This week, Gen Con President David Hoppe joined a select group of industry professionals invited to present at the Washington State Senate’s first-ever work session focused on the tabletop gaming industry.
The work session was designed to inform Senate members about
tabletop gaming’s impact on the Washington state economy and included representatives from Wizards of the Coast, Paizo, Loan Shark Games, and Green Ronin Publishing. The committee, which included Washington Senators Mark Mullet and Steve Hobbs, heard about each company’s experience in starting and developing their business during a series of panels Tuesday morning on the Capitol’s campus.The information and experience shared were invaluable in educating the state legislature on the tabletop gaming industry and community
in Washington.
Gen Con at Indianapolis August 1-4, 2019
Sadly, politicians being who they are, this will likely end with them looking for more creative ways to tax the industry and/or the customers of said industry – “we want a larger piece of y’all’s pie!”
While that’s possible, there is another view. I’m from Georgia which went with an inverse idea offering so many tax credits to movie/TV production companies that more films are shot in Georgia than anywhere else in the US (I should say I’ve read that Georgia leads in production in some places, but not every place). It is possible that Washington state will look to incentive game publishers to relocate to their state and provide jobs. It could be a win-win for the Northwest. I’m looking for the silver lining. 😉