[2] The World Billiards and Snooker Council (WB&SC) was established in 1971, following a meeting of a number of national associations at a hotel in Malta during the World Amateur Billiards Championship.

[2][3][4] The aims and objectives of the IBSF are to "co-ordinate, promote and develop the sports of billiards and snooker on a non-professional level" and to manage the competitions.

[5] As of January 2020, the IBSF has seventy-three affiliated countries categorised into one of the five Olympic regions: Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania.

The IBSF board of directors has four executive officers (president, vice-president, secretary, and treasurer) plus two representatives from each Olympic region.

The executive officers are responsible for the day-to-day running of the Federation and are answerable to IBSF members at the annual general meeting, which is normally held during the period of the IBSF World Snooker Championships.