Abstract:

Brazil recorded 81 million consumers in default as of January 2026, indicating that conventional financial literacy programmes rarely translate into sustained behavioural change. Although gamification and serious games are increasingly incorporated into financial education initiatives, the magnitude and consistency of their effects on financial behaviour have not been quantitatively synthesised. This study aimed to examine the extent to which game-based tools — including gamification and serious games — affect financial behaviour from a behavioural finance perspective. A systematic review with meta-analysis was conducted; primary studies were retrieved from the Scopus database (2015–2025) and screened according to the PRISMA 2020 protocol. Twenty-eight (28) studies were included. Methodological quality was appraised with the MMAT, and the certainty of evidence was assessed using the GRADE framework. The combined effect size was estimated via Hedges' g under a mixed-effects model (metafor package for R). Game-based interventions produced a positive effect on financial behaviour, with substantial heterogeneity across studies. Flow-inducing design elements and intervention duration emerged as relevant moderators, differentially conditioning the magnitude of the effect across age groups and delivery modalities. These findings suggest that financial education programmes may benefit from the systematic integration of flow-calibrated game mechanics tailored to the target audience's profile, with the potential to reduce over-indebtedness and strengthen savings behaviour.

Keywords:

Financial education, gamification, serious games, meta-analysis, behavioural finance, financial literacy, financial behaviour.