The Governing Body
About IMSA
The International Mind Sports Association is the global body uniting the world's great mind sports, and the home poker officially belongs to.
The Institution
What Is IMSA?
The International Mind Sports Association was founded on April 19, 2005, in Berlin, during the annual convention of the GAISF. It brings together the world governing bodies of mind sports to pursue common goals: to organize the World Mind Sports Games, to advance the inclusion of mind sports in the Olympic movement, and to promote the educational value these disciplines bring to people everywhere.
Visit the official IMSA website
Its Purpose
What IMSA Stands For
Unite Federations
Bringing the world governing bodies of mind sports together under one banner, to pursue shared aims and interests.
World Mind Sports Games
Organizing an international multi-sport event that gathers the mind sports on one stage, in the spirit of the Olympics.
Olympic Movement
Working toward the recognition of mind sports within the Olympic movement and their national Olympic committees.
Educational Value
Promoting the intellectual and emotional growth that mind sports foster, especially in young people.
9Mind Sports
500+National Associations
~1BPlayers Worldwide
2005Founded in Berlin
Poker's Place
The Ninth Member
In November 2024, in São Paulo, the World Poker Federation was welcomed into the International Mind Sports Association as its ninth member. With that decision, poker took its place, officially and definitively, alongside chess, bridge, Go, and the other great disciplines of the mind.
It was the recognition players had long worked toward: poker as a sport of skill, strategy, and mental discipline.
See how it happened
9th
Member
Since 2024
Discover the IMSA Family
Poker joined a distinguished family of disciplines, from chess and bridge to Go, draughts, and eSports. Get to know the federations that make up the world of mind sports.
Meet the Family