Who runs billiards.

WCBS: the umbrella

The World Confederation of Billiards Sports was formally constituted on 25 January 1992 in Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland, after the idea came up at a 1990 meeting in Bristol. Its three member federations are the WPA (pool), the UMB (carom) and the IBSF (snooker and English billiards), and each regulates its own disciplines. The IOC gave WCBS full recognition on 5 February 1998, and WCBS says it has been part of The World Games since 2005 (Wikipedia dates billiards' addition to the World Games to 2001). In April 2026 the World Games organizers confirmed billiards for the 2029 Games in Karlsruhe, Germany, with the disciplines still to be set.

WPA: pool worldwide

The World Pool-Billiard Association is the international governing body for pool. It writes the World Standardized Rules, sanctions international events and publishes the official world rankings. It formed in 1987 and was sanctioned as the governing body on 3 March 1990. It works through six regional confederations covering Africa, Asia, North America (the BCA), Pan-America, Europe and Oceania. For its 2025 season the WPA reported athletes from 128 countries across 76 international events, and it has stated a goal of Olympic inclusion for Brisbane 2032.

BCA and CSI: North America

The Billiard Congress of America is the governing body for cue sports in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico, and the WPA's member for North America. It is a non-profit trade association based in Broomfield, Colorado, whose voting members are mostly equipment manufacturers. It publishes an annual rules book that includes the WPA rules, which it adopted in 2000, and it has run the BCA Hall of Fame since 1966.

The BCA Pool League was sold in 2004 to Mark Griffin. Today CueSports International (CSI) is its parent company and runs both the BCA Pool League (BCAPL) and the USA Pool League (USAPL). The sources we reviewed do not describe any ownership link between CSI and the Billiard Congress of America beyond the league carrying the BCA name.

WPBSA and the World Snooker Tour

The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association was founded in 1968 and traces its roots to the Billiards Association of 1885. It writes the Official Rules of Snooker and English Billiards, last substantially updated in August 2019. Its commercial arm, World Snooker Ltd, runs the World Snooker Tour, including the World Championship; Matchroom Sport has owned 51 percent of it since 2010. The tour usually has about 128 players, all WPBSA members. The main route onto the tour is Q School, which is open to anyone who pays the entry fee; most new professionals get a two-year tour card.

IBSF: amateur snooker

Amateur snooker and English billiards are governed by the International Billiards and Snooker Federation, founded in 1971 and based in Doha, Qatar.

UMB: carom

The Union Mondiale de Billard governs carom billiards, including three-cushion. It was established in 1959 in Madrid, with roots in a federation founded in 1923, and is a co-founder of WCBS.