World Mahjong Organization

The World Mahjong Organization is the international governing body of mahjong in its Mahjong Competition Rules variation, also known as the Chinese official rules, and its headquarters is in Beijing, China. It was established in 2006 in Beijing. The organization grew out of a long effort to turn a game once regarded as gambling into a competitive sport: China officially recognised mahjong as a sport in January 1998, unified rules for international competitions followed in September 1998, and the first World Mahjong Championship was held in Tokyo from 23 to 26 October 2002 with a hundred players from eight nations. The organization maintains the competition rules used in its international events.