At the stroke of midnight on January 1, 2018, thanks to House Bill 199, our beloved state becomes the Shangri-La of video game developers across the world. This news is a big deal, given the fact that the majority of homes in the U.S. include at least one family member playing video games for three or more hours every week. That someone might be you. After all, the average age of a gamer is not 12 or 18, but 35 years old, and 41 percent of gamers worldwide are women. As we approach 2018, when bold new tax incentives for gaming mark the beginning of a new era in Georgia business, I wanted to share a few reasons all of us should celebrate.
1. Gaming means big investment in Georgia. Consumers spent $30.4 billion on gaming in 2016 —more than twice the total revenue of the NFL during the same year. According to the Georgia Game Developers Association, the gaming industry already has a $550 million economic impact in Georgia, with 3,000 full-time gaming employees already living and working here. McKinsey projects gaming will be the fastest-growing consumer segment over the next five years. Our lawmakers should be commended for thinking progressively and taking advantage of this market trend.
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