Igor Trafane is the founder and President of the World Poker Federation. His leadership reflects a long term commitment to building a structured, recognized and internationally coordinated future for poker.
At WPF, Igor leads the strategic vision of establishing poker within a unified global framework based on governance, national representation and institutional credibility. Under his presidency, WPF has expanded its international network, strengthened relationships with federations across multiple continents and positioned poker within the global mind sports ecosystem.
A defining milestone of this work was poker’s official approval as a mind sport by IMSA, the International Mind Sports Association. Igor was instrumental in this achievement. The recognition represented more than a symbolic step. It brought institutional clarity and long term security to the entire poker industry, its stakeholders and the thousands of professionals who work within it. By aligning poker with the international mind sports structure, WPF helped reinforce the game’s legitimacy on a global scale.
In addition to his role at WPF, Igor serves as Vice President of the International Mind Sports Association and President of the Confederación Panamericana de Poker Deportivo (CPPD). Through these positions, he contributes directly to strengthening institutional bridges between poker and the broader international mind sports community.
Before the WPF, Igor structured poker nationally in Brazil through the creation and leadership of the Confederação Brasileira de Texas Hold’em (CBTH). That experience demonstrated that poker grows sustainably when it is organized through clear rules, representation and long term institutional planning. The same philosophy now guides WPF globally.
At WPF, the mission is clear: fight for poker, protect its players, workers and entrepreneurs, and ensure that the game is represented with strength, unity and credibility worldwide. Igor Trafane leads that mission with the conviction that poker deserves an organized global structure capable of supporting generations to come.