Professional Organisations

Of the two professional organisations, the British Darts Organisation (BDO), founded 1973), is the oldest. Its tournaments are often shown on the BBC, and on SBS6 in the Netherlands.

The BDO is a member of the World Darts Federation (WDF) (founded 1976), alongside with organisations in some 60 other countries worldwide. the BDO organises all British darts players, with the exception of a small group of professionals.

In the 1994 a breakaway organisation was formed, influenced by Sky Television, currently known as the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) - in the Netherlands often televised by RTL5.

While the PDC tournaments often have a higher prize money, critics would say they are less prestigious than those organised by its traditional counterpart, the BDO.