Video games, esports and kids’ online safety in Wisconsin
Wisconsin’s film credit covered video games from 2008 to 2013. When the Legislature brought the credit back in 2025, games were left out. Two bills to add them have died since, while the same companies spent the 2025–26 session on bills about children, apps and AI.
At a glance
Two sides of one industry
Economic development on one side, children’s safety online on the other. Both come back in 2027.
-
2006
Wisconsin enacts a film credit that names “electronic game” as an eligible production
2005 Wis. Act 483
-
30%
Today’s film credit on resident wages and production spending. Games are not eligible
s. 71.07(5f), from 2026
-
2
Bills since 2024 to add games back. Both cleared committee and died without a floor vote
AB 1033 (2023), AB 204 (2025)
-
6
Bills on children, apps and AI in the 2025–26 package covered here. Two became law
2025–26 session
Current as of 22 October 2026
The bottom line
Wisconsin has tried both halves of games policy and finished neither. On the growth side, the state once credited game production and stopped in 2013. The 2025 budget revived the film credit at 30 percent with games written out of it, and the two bills since then to add them, both authored by Rep. Moses and Sen. Testin, cleared committee and died when the session ended. On the protection side, the Assembly passed age-verification bills for app stores and social media in February 2026, and a bill on AI companions for children had a hearing. The Senate did not act on any of them. Every unpassed bill expired on 23 March 2026, so both debates start fresh when the 2027–28 Legislature convenes in January.
WDBC has taken no position on any bill in this entry. It explains what Wisconsin has tried and what other states do.
How the game credit came and went
- 2006. 2005 Wis. Act 483 creates a film production services credit for “a film, video, electronic game, broadcast advertisement, or television production”: 25 percent of Wisconsin-resident wages and 25 percent of production spending, from tax year 2008.
- 2013. The credit closes. Under the statute, no credit may be claimed for tax years beginning after 31 December 2013.
- 2024. AB 1033 and SB 970 propose a digital interactive media credit. The Assembly Ways and Means Committee recommends it 8–4. It dies on 15 April 2024 without a floor vote.
- 2025. The state budget (2025 Wis. Act 15) creates a State Film Office and re-creates the credit at 30 percent for “a film, video, broadcast advertisement, or television production.” Games are not in the definition (s. 71.07(5f)).
- 2025–26. AB 204 and SB 204 propose a video game production credit. The Assembly Science, Technology and AI Committee recommends it 5–1, and the Joint Committee on Finance recommends it, as amended, 11–4 on 4 February 2026. It dies on 23 March 2026 without a floor vote.
Esports
Bills to fund school esports competition were introduced in three sessions (2019 AB 1001, 2021 AB 1188, 2023 AB 1189). None received a hearing. The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association does not sanction esports; high school play is organized independently.
Children, apps and AI
The 2025–26 session’s online safety bills reach the same companies from the other direction. Games are apps, many have chat and in-game purchases, and AI characters are arriving in them. Two of these bills became law; the rest expired.
- AB 962, app stores and app developers: age verification and parental consent. Passed the Assembly 58–37; not taken up by the Senate.
- AB 963, social media accounts for minors. Passed the Assembly 60–35; not taken up by the Senate.
- AB 965, AI systems that simulate humanlike relationships with children. Public hearing; did not reach a vote.
- AB 948, phones during the school day in public schools. Passed the Assembly; not taken up by the Senate.
- AB 957, internet crimes against children law enforcement. Enacted, 2025 Wis. Act 216.
- AB 966, the Department of Justice public awareness campaign. Enacted, 2025 Wis. Act 219.
AB 965 is the first Wisconsin bill aimed at AI companions for children. It ties this entry to the state’s wider AI debate and to data privacy, where a consumer data protection bill, AB 172, cleared committee 10–0 and died without a floor vote.
Who registered
The state lobbying record shows a small, steady presence. The Entertainment Software Association, the national trade group for game publishers, has registered in most sessions since 2003, and in 2025–26 reported lobbying for AB/SB 204 and against the app store bill (AB 962 / SB 937). Roblox registered for the first time in 2025–26, on the online safety package. The Wisconsin Technology Council, the Wisconsin Startup Coalition and the Greater Madison Chamber registered in support of AB/SB 204. No Wisconsin game studio has registered as a lobbying principal. Details are public at lobbying.wi.gov.
Elsewhere
How other states handle it
Three states with game credits and published results.
-
Pennsylvania
A small, capped credit
Up to 25 percent of qualified expenses for a studio’s first four years, then 10 percent, from a $1 million yearly allocation.
-
Georgia
Retention more than recruitment
20 percent, plus 10 percent for showing the state logo, capped at $12.5 million a year. A 2022 state audit found $26 million in credits used from 2017 to 2021, with participating companies paying $7.4 million in state taxes, and that the credit mainly keeps existing companies rather than attracting new ones.
-
Louisiana
Activity up, revenue down
The Department of Revenue’s return-on-investment report for fiscal 2022 put the digital interactive media credit at a 38 percent economic return and a fiscal return of −93 percent: the state recovers about 7 cents in revenue per dollar of credit.
Most Midwest neighbors have no active game credit. Abroad, Canadian provinces, France and the United Kingdom credit game production, and Brazil passed a national games law in 2024. Those programs vary widely in size and design.
Questions for 2027
- Add games to the existing credit, or build a separate one? The 2025 credit already has an office, a rate and rules. AB 204 proposed its own program at the Department of Revenue.
- A cap and a review? Pennsylvania and Georgia cap their credits; the state audits above are the only public evidence on results.
- Credits or partnerships? Some states fund university esports and training programs, or public venues run by private operators, instead of or alongside tax credits.
- How do safety rules apply to games? Age verification, social media and AI companion bills each define their scope differently, and games can fall inside or outside depending on the wording.
Sources: Wisconsin Statutes s. 71.07(5f) (current and 2015 editions); 2005 Wis. Act 483; 2025–26 and earlier bill histories at docs.legis.wisconsin.gov; Wisconsin Ethics Commission lobbying records at lobbying.wi.gov; the state sources linked above. This entry reports and explains public policy; it is not legal advice. Corrections are welcome at team@wdbc.io.
Suggest a topic or send a source
Members help decide what the library covers next. Send a topic you want explained, a document we should read, or a correction to this page. It goes to the WDBC team, not to other members.
Analysis like this is what membership funds
Every library entry is researched from the statute books and the bill record, and dated so you know how current it is. Members get the tracker, Intelligence Briefings and early notice when a new entry is published.