I guess I'm not sure what is meant by "sanctioning" or if the ABP even knows what they mean. It does seem odd that the ABP would announce they are sanctioning an event when the promoter never asked for it. I thought the whole idea of sanctioning is you submit a written request asking for it and only then is it considered. It seems the ABP is trying to generate some sort of self-important image by proactively announcing these sanctions when they were never even asked.
So I'm wondering if the ABP only meant to say they will include it as a rankings event, but once again misspoke. If that is the case, I'm not sure I see a problem. After all, Matchroom includes the Open as a rankings event for its Mosconi Cup and that hasn't seemed to jeopardized the WPA sanctioning. Same for the US Open 10 Ball actually.