The Riigikogu discussed the future of sports as a matter of significant national importance
Today, the Riigikogu held a deliberation of the matter of significant national importance “A plan for the future of sports: how to bring medals and get children to exercise”, initiated by Estonia 200 Parliamentary Group. The discussion focused on the possibilities of attracting private funding into the sports sector.
In her opening speech, President of the Estonian Olympic Committee Kersti Kaljulaid said that sport had a lot to offer to the society. She noted that the top-level sport was the upper part of the sports pyramid, which was bright, visible, exciting and inspiring. “The lower, wider level of the sports pyramid, which common knowledge might view as a sort of a breeding ground for top performance, is in fact becoming increasingly vital for the smooth functioning of the society. Sport is a branch of economy,” she said, adding that in financial terms, Estonian sport gave quite a lot back to the state and it certainly had growth potential as an economic sector.
Kaljulaid noted that if more than a tenth of adults exercised, the revenue from sports could be 10 times greater. “However, the problem is that we do not move. Sport is a largely neglected opportunity in terms of the health of the Estonian people,” she said, noting that the foundation for an active lifestyle was laid in kindergarten. “However, as of 2015, it is not even mandatory for Estonian kindergartens to have physical education teachers. A quarter of children leaving kindergarten already struggle with extra weight. These are very, very disappointing figures.”
The head of the Olympic Committee said that the Fundamentals of the Estonian Sports Policy until 2030 set the goal for two-thirds of Estonians to have a sufficient level of physical activity. “As I already mentioned, a mere 10 percent of adults have it today, and physical activity levels among children and teenagers suggest that we will not achieve our goals unless we make significant changes. Today, on behalf of the Estonian Olympic Committee and associated institutions I can only speak on the possibilities for us to move faster towards this goal,” said Kaljulaid. She gave an overview of the projects the Olympic Committee, its members, supporters and foundations are currently working on to ensure that sport brings more health benefits, more joy to sympathisers and more revenue to the budget.
Member of the Riigikogu Tanel Tein identified the lack of physical activity among children as the core problem. He said that more children should be involved in recreational activities, which will help increase the number of active children and develop their exercise habits. “Currently, children are recruited for recreational activities, including training, by sports clubs and it is by increasing the sports clubs’ financial capacity that we can boost physical activity habits. However, this measure requires substantial additional financial resources, more coaches and a more inspiring environment for the organisation of recreational activities,” he said.
According to Tein, the state must be innovative and must create mechanisms that stimulate and facilitate the flow of private funds into the sport and culture ‑sector, including hobby education and recreational activities. “In the first year, the potential extra private funding for sports‑and culture could amount to ca EUR 10 million. Eventually, it could reach EUR 50 or 100 million per year, depending on the companies’ performance and their will. However, in order to implement this plan, the state’s own contribution or state incentive amounting to one third of the donated amount is also required,” he noted.
Tein said that, as a small country, Estonia should seek additional opportunities, i.e. measures to be taken at a global level. According to him, Estonia is currently doing well in the field of remote gambling – an export sector where foreign operators use the Estonian remote gambling license and pay taxes to Estonia. “For example, last year the remote gambling tax revenue totalled EUR 21 million.” But if we acted smarter in this field, our potential could be even greater. A smart and well-thought-out tax design could bring a potential revenue of over one billion euros within 10 years,” said Tein, adding that if successful, it would contribute considerably towards financing sports facilities and implementing the plan to attract private funds.
Uku Varblane, Head of Research at the Foresight Centre, also noted that the sports sector could receive extra funds from corporate donations. However, stimulating measures might be required to increase donations, such as boosting state donations. “The revenues from the remote gambling tax could be a possible source of extra funds to cover the state incentive and to bring additional funds into the sports and culture sector,” he said.
He pointed out that while in 2019 tax revenue from remote gambling accounted for merely a tenth of the total tax revenue, last year it already constituted over a third of the revenue. “The remote gambling industry has been growing rapidly due to the liberal regulatory environment in Estonia, which enables companies to operate internationally,” said Varblane. He noted that only a small portion of remote gambling operators active in Estonia focused on the Estonian market while others were mainly interested in foreign countries, especially Finland.
According to Varblane, Estonian market participants estimate that there is room for new remote gambling operators and for increasing the activity of those already present in Estonia, primarily through operators moving larger part of their activities under the Estonian license. “The Ministry of Finance estimates that the tax revenue from remote gambling will grow steadily and reach EUR 29 million in four years. At the same time, market participants believe that a much faster growth and the multiplication of tax revenue are also possible,” he said.
Varblane referred to a simulation based on market participants’ estimates, according to which tax revenue from remote gambling could reach EUR 95 million by 2029, as per a more optimistic forecast. “Such additional funds would allow the state to provide incentives for corporate donations and to implement sports facilities development plans.” In order to realise this potential, on the other hand, one needs to increase the capacity of the Tax and Customs Board to carry out procedural acts. Another important factor is the tax rate applied to remote gambling compared to that in other countries,” said the Head of Research at the Foresight Centre.
In her presentation, Minister of Education and Research Kristina Kallas highlighted the tasks that Estonia should take on in the field of sports. She said that it was necessary to increase children’s physical activity, which required hobby groups, multisport training and the development of active lifestyle coaching, as well as more sports curricula in general education. She also emphasised the importance of both private and state investments into sports and culture. She added that they increased economic growth and created added value.
“Estonia needs one central multifunctional hall for sports and culture that would host both major cultural and sporting events. We actually have a plan, we know what we have to do. We just have to start doing those things,” said the Minister.
Madis Kallas from the Social Democratic Party Group, Kristina Šmigun-Vähi and Jüri Jaanson from the Estonian Reform Party Group, Mart Maastik from Isamaa Parliamentary Group, Vadim Belobrovtsev from the Estonian Centre Party Group, Arvo Aller from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group and Kadri Tali, Igor Taro and Toomas Uibo from the Estonia 200 Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate.
After the plenary assembly sitting, members of the Riigikogu are planning to form the Estonian Wolf Support Group on the initiative of Member of the Riigikogu Eerik-Niiles Kross.
Photos (Erik Peinar / Chancellery of the Riigikogu)
Verbatim record of the sitting (in Estonian)
Video recording of the sitting will be available on the Riigikogu YouTube channel.
Riigikogu Press Service
Karin Kangro
+372 631 6356, +372 520 0323
[email protected]
Questions: [email protected]
