iGaming PWA Funnel in Brazil: 1M+ Installs and 63K Deposits in 5 Months [Case Study]
Most iGaming buyers running ad campaigns think they need a native app. A problem: stores sometimes pull licensed iGaming apps without warning, and getting them back can take months. PWA sidesteps that entirely, so this buyer built their funnel around it instead.
Users first landed on a pre-lander with interactive content before deciding whether to install the app. From there, they could add the app directly to their home screen in just a few taps.
The result?
More than 1 million installs and 63,000 deposits in just five months, while keeping the cost per deposit below $10 throughout the campaign. The PWA format helped reach more users while promoting a licensed gaming offer, fully in line with PropellerAds policies and local regulatory requirements.
Сase Study Overview
Case Study Overview
iGaming PWA — Brazil, Jan–May 2026
Performance Results
Scale & Conversion Results
How the PWA Funnel Worked
Users landed on a warm-up pre-landing page with two interactive games. After playing, they got redirected to the PWA install prompt. After install, the app icon appeared on the home screen.
PropellerAds · PWA Campaign · Brazil
How the PWA Funnel Worked
“Most iGaming buyers think they need a native app to compete. But a well-built PWA with a strong pre-landing actually outperforms APK funnels we’ve tested, and you’re not on anyone’s takedown list.”
Campaign Flow and Optimization
Running one GEO for five months means the optimization story matters as much as the setup. Here is what the team adjusted, why, and what the data showed.
Bidding: Slow and Steady Wins the Deposit
The campaign started at $0.50 per install.
Cost per install (CPI) grew from roughly $0.49 in January to over $0.70 by May.
The one exception was April. During that month, the buyer decided to stop some traffic sources – we’ll tell you why a bit later. Because of that, CPI spiked to $1.16 as the team cut volume from low-quality sources while maintaining spend on better traffic. Outside that pause, the cost per deposit (CPD) stayed approximately between $7.80 and $9.90 throughout.
That range held because the team moved bids in small increments and waited for the algorithm to settle at each new price point before raising again. All numbers are based on the PropellerAds campaign data for this account, January through May 2026.
“The mistake I see all the time is buyers jumping the bid by $0.10 or $0.20 when they want more volume. The algorithm needs time to recalibrate after each change. We moved in small steps and waited for the CPD to stabilize before the next raise. If you skip that window, you end up paying more for installs from sources that don’t convert to deposits.”
Alex Shovkun
Format Mix
Interactive Ads carried the bulk of the volume. Popunder, In-Page Push, and Telegram Mini-App Ads ran alongside each other to diversify delivery and maintain stable scale in one GEO over five months. Running multiple formats meant the campaign wasn’t dependent on a single channel.
What Actually Moved the Numbers
The gamified pre-landing with 2 games did real qualifying work. Someone who spends time playing before installing is a genuinely different user from someone who clicks past a banner.
The install-to-registration rate of around 49% reflects that. In the team’s read, the warm-up page pre-selected higher-intent users before they ever reached the install prompt.
One Thing to Watch
April’s numbers look like a drop: installs fell to 28,451 from 259,420 in March. That was deliberate. The team paused to cut traffic sources with good install rates but weak deposit conversion. May’s recovery, smaller in volume but cleaner in quality, shows why that cleanup mattered.
“Scale comes from formats. Profit comes from filtering intent early. If you don’t separate the two, you’re just buying installs, not users.”
Alex Shovkun
Results & Conclusions
Below are the full campaign numbers broken down by month, funnel stage, and top campaigns by spend.
Top Campaigns by Spend
| Campaign Type | Spend |
| Onclick — Install | $116,000 |
| Telegram — CPA | $94,000 |
| Onclick — CPA | $81,000 |
| Push / In-Page — Install | $76,000 |
Funnel Summary
| Install → Registration | 48.8% |
| Registration → Deposit | 12.7% |
| Average CPI | ~$0.54 |
| Average Cost per Deposit | ~$8.74 |
Monthly Performance
| Month | Impressions | Clicks | Installs | Registrations | Deposits | Spend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1.04B | 4.32M | 424,684 | 218,359 | 25,956 | $208,085 |
| February | 847.5M | 4.27M | 269,558 | 134,767 | 15,450 | $144,416 |
| March | 814.3M | 4.87M | 259,420 | 105,076 | 14,380 | $141,687 |
| April | 86.1M | 0.48M | 28,451 | 21,026 | 4,243 | $33,115 |
| May | 488.1M | 1.94M | 33,937 | 16,292 | 3,040 | $23,648 |
| TOTAL | 3.27B | 15.9M | 1,016,050 | 495,520 | 63,069 | $550,951 |
Lessons Learned
1. The Pre-Landing Does More Work Than Most Buyers Expect
Interactive mechanics (a game, a survey, or any other engaging flow) don’t just look good. They filter out passive clicks and warm users up before the install ask.
2. Raise CPI in Small Steps, and Wait Between Them
This is the part buyers resist because it feels slow. But the algorithm needs time to find the right sources at each new price point. Moving too fast means spending at a higher CPI before the system has recalibrated, and that shows up in your CPD. The five-month chart tells the story: CPI doubled while CPD barely moved.
3. Don’t Rely on One Format for Five Months
Interactive Ads was the backbone, but diversifying into Onclick, In-Page Push, and Telegram is what kept volume stable over the long run. A single-format campaign in one GEO will hit a ceiling faster, and when performance dips, there’s nowhere to shift spend.
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