The Brazilian gaming market is booming, driven by one of the most passionate gamer communities in the world. With over 82% of the population playing games on a regular basis (PGB Trend Report 2025) and a growing appetite for in-game purchases, Brazil has become one of the most lucrative markets in Latin America for global gaming companies. Nintendo, for example, recently highlighted Brazil as a strategic priority, citing the enthusiasm of local fans as a driving factor.
But with opportunity comes complexity. For enterprise-level publishers and platforms, the real challenge lies in balancing two competing priorities: blocking sophisticated payment fraud without hurting the player experience or losing legitimate sales to overly strict security measures.
According to Visa’s 2025 Global eCommerce Payments and Fraud Report, while overall rates are down compared to previous years, fraud remains a significant challenge, with 98% of merchants having experienced some type of fraud in the last year. For merchants in gaming, each of these incidents not only cuts into revenue but also risks player trust and brand reputation.
Yet being too cautious can be just as damaging. False declines, unnecessary friction, and delayed approvals can frustrate legitimate players. In a country where payment issues are more common than in the rest of the world (Visa’s 2025 Global Digital Shopping Index), this can lead to high rates of abandoned purchases and reduced engagement and lifetime value (LTV).
The key to success in Brazil isn’t just stopping fraud—it’s knowing which transactions to trust. This balance defines effective gaming risk management, and it’s what separates thriving operations from those stuck in endless cycles of chargebacks and lost revenue.
In this article, we’ll explore:
- Why balancing security and user experience is essential for gaming success in Brazil
- The most common fraud patterns affecting the local market
- Why generic anti-fraud tools often underperform in Brazil
- How a localized, intelligent solution like PagShield® helps gaming companies maximize approvals, reduce chargebacks, and secure their revenue
Why is Balancing Security and User Experience Critical in Gaming Payments?
In the gaming industry, payment performance is directly tied to player retention and revenue. When a legitimate player’s payment is declined or delayed, it’s not just a lost sale—it’s often the end of their engagement with the game.
This tension between fraud prevention and user experience is particularly acute in Brazil, where consumers are used to fast, frictionless transactions with methods like Pix, Brazil’s popular instant payment system. Whether purchasing new games, in-game items, or virtual currency or renewing a service, they are quick to abandon a purchase, game, or entire platform if they encounter barriers at checkout.
False positives (i.e., legitimate transactions incorrectly flagged as fraud) are among the most costly mistakes in risk management. They not only reduce immediate revenue but also erode players’ confidence in purchasing from the platform, driving them to competitors with smoother experiences. According to a report based on research by Oxford Economics, over 40% of consumers who experience a false decline will stop purchasing from that brand altogether, highlighting just how significant that loss of trust can be.
In high-growth gaming markets like Brazil, the winners are those who manage to protect against fraud without overprotecting. The most successful payment strategies combine advanced fraud detection with local insight, ensuring security measures are precise, not punitive.
What Are the Unique Payment Fraud Challenges in the Brazilian Gaming Market?
Missteps in fraud detection can frustrate players and hurt revenue. In Brazil, however, the stakes are even higher because the local market presents a set of fraud challenges that differ from global norms. Generic anti-fraud systems often struggle to distinguish between legitimate Brazilian gamers and sophisticated fraudsters, leading to higher false declines and lost opportunities.
Understanding these unique risks is critical for designing a strategy that protects revenue without creating unnecessary friction. The next sections break down the most common types of fraud in Brazilian gaming and why they are worth your attention.
How Does “Friendly Fraud” Impact Gaming Revenue?
Friendly fraud, also known as chargeback fraud, occurs when a legitimate player disputes a credit card transaction, claiming it was unauthorized or that they never received the product. While it may sometimes be accidental (for example, a player forgetting that they have bought a specific item), it can also be intentional, with players exploiting chargeback policies to receive digital goods for free.
In Brazil, this type of fraud is particularly prevalent (Global eCommerce Payments and Fraud Report). This is especially true in the gaming industry, because digital products and in-game items are intangible and delivered instantly. Unlike physical goods, there’s no way for payment processors or banks to verify receipts, making these transactions more susceptible to disputes.
The impact of friendly fraud on revenue is significant. Each chargeback not only costs the value of the purchase but also adds administrative fees, potential penalties from payment networks, and the risk of increased processing scrutiny. For large-scale gaming operations in Brazil, even a small increase in chargebacks can erode profit margins and strain relationships with acquirers.
Why do Fraudsters Use Gaming Platforms for Card Testing?
Card testing is another one of the most common and costly types of fraud in Brazil (Global eCommerce Payments and Fraud Report). It occurs when fraudsters use stolen or generated credit card numbers to make small, low-value purchases, often in rapid succession, to determine which cards are still active. Once a card is validated, it can be used for larger fraudulent transactions elsewhere or sold on the dark web.
Gaming platforms are a prime target for card testing because they process high volumes of low-value transactions, often with instant delivery and minimal human review. Microtransactions, in-game purchases, and digital top-ups create an ideal environment for fraudsters to test cards without drawing immediate attention. For merchants, the result is a surge in small fraudulent transactions that inflate authorization costs, increase chargeback ratios, raise red flags with acquirers, and distort conversion rates.
Are Account Takeovers (ATO) a Significant Threat to Players?
Account takeovers (ATO) occur when a fraudster gains unauthorized access to a player’s account, often using stolen credentials from data breaches or through phishing attacks. Once inside, attackers can make in-game purchases, steal virtual assets, or manipulate account settings—all of which can lead to both financial loss and reputational damage for the gaming platform.
While not among the top types of fraud in Brazil overall (Global eCommerce Payments and Fraud Report), ATO is still a pressing concern in the gaming industry due to the high volume of online transactions and the widespread use of predictable passwords. In fact, a 2024 survey by Nordpass revealed that the top password in Brazil is “123456”—a password that can be cracked in less than a second. With these vulnerabilities, fraudsters can quickly monetize compromised accounts, often before the legitimate player even notices, leading to rapid escalation in chargebacks and disputes.
The consequences of ATO extend beyond immediate financial loss. Players who experience an account compromise may lose trust in the platform and disengage, reducing lifetime value and increasing churn. For gaming companies, repeated incidents can damage brand perception and make negotiating with local payment processors more difficult, potentially increasing transaction costs.
How Can Generic Anti-Fraud Tools Hurt Your Approval Rates in Brazil?
Many international gaming companies arrive in Brazil with global fraud prevention systems already in place. These tools may perform well in North America or Europe, but they often fail to deliver the same results in Brazil. The reason is simple: Brazil’s payments ecosystem and consumer behavior are unique from other markets.
Generic fraud prevention systems typically rely on global data points, static rules, or credit bureau information that overlook local realities such as regional usage patterns, address formats, identifiers such as CPFs (Brazilian tax ID), or payment preferences. As a result, they tend to misinterpret legitimate player behavior as suspicious, generating unnecessary declines and friction.
These false declines directly impact approval rates and player retention. A legitimate gamer trying to make a small in-game purchase, for example, might be blocked simply because their billing address doesn’t match international standards. Each failed transaction represents not only a lost sale but also a damaged player relationship.
Moreover, Brazilian fraud typologies evolve rapidly. Fraudsters often exploit gaps in systems that aren’t continuously updated with local intelligence. Without region-specific calibration and real-time behavioral analysis, global tools tend to be overly conservative—protecting against fraud, but at the expense of conversion and player satisfaction.
To address Brazil’s unique challenges effectively, global gaming companies need a localized approach to fraud prevention—one that understands the country’s players and payment data from the ground up.
What Defines an Effective Anti-Fraud System for the Brazilian Market?
In Brazil’s complex payments landscape, an effective anti-fraud system must balance three elements: local intelligence, behavioral analysis, and flexibility. Rather than relying on static rules or global scoring models, the right system continuously learns from how local players interact, spend, and authenticate. By analyzing transaction velocity, device behavior, and identity signals in real time, it can identify fraud more accurately without disrupting the user experience.
That’s exactly what PagShield® was built to do.
- Built for Brazil: PagShield® was developed specifically for Brazil’s unique payment ecosystem—its algorithms are trained on more than four thousand variables related to local data and behavioral patterns, allowing it to distinguish legitimate payments from fraud attempts with greater accuracy than generic tools.
- Intelligent, real-time analysis: Using machine-learning technology, PagShield® analyzes transactions in real time to distinguish legitimate players from fraudsters with exceptional accuracy. This enables merchants to approve more genuine payments without increasing risk exposure.
- Fully customizable ruleset: Every gaming business operates differently, and PagShield® adapts accordingly. Merchants can tailor fraud rules to align with their growth goals and risk appetite, ensuring the right balance between protection and conversion. What’s more, they can count on a team of specialists to assist with the tool’s calibration, guaranteeing optimized functionality.
- Prevention of legitimate order loss: Medium-risk orders are pre-authorized for manual review, ensuring that valid transactions aren’t mistakenly declined. This manual review complements PagShield®’s automated risk analysis, helping you safely maximize conversions.
By combining localized intelligence with flexibility and speed, PagShield® minimizes chargebacks while maximizing legitimate approvals. For gaming companies, that means fewer disputes, higher conversion rates, and a smoother payment experience that keeps players coming back.
Play Smart: Maximize Revenue and Minimize Risk in Brazil
Expanding your gaming business in Brazil means unlocking one of the world’s most passionate and engaged player bases—but it also means navigating a unique payment landscape. With PagBrasil, you get more than just access to preferred methods like local credit and debit cards, Pix, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Boleto Flash®, you gain the intelligence, flexibility, and support to make every transaction seamless and secure.
In a market where player trust defines loyalty, every approved payment is a win for both your revenue and your reputation.
Talk to our team today to learn how PagBrasil can help you power your next level of growth.
