Steam now bans games that "violate the standards of banks and payment processors"

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Mastercard responds: https://www.mastercard.com/us/en/news-and-trends/press/2025/august/clarifying-recent-headlines-on-gaming-content.html

"Mastercard has not evaluated any game or required restrictions of any activity on game creator sites and platforms, contrary to media reports and allegations. 

Our payment network follows standards based on the rule of law. Put simply, we allow all lawful purchases on our network. At the same time, we require merchants to have appropriate controls to ensure Mastercard cards cannot be used for unlawful purchases, including illegal adult content."

Here's the thing though; a lot of the content being blocked is not illegal. Some of it may be distasteful, but adult content in itself is not against the law, at least not in most of the developed world.

Meanwhile, Mastercard and VISA both continue to process payment for actually illegal gambling sites: https://readwrite.com/illegal-gambling-websites-beseige-internet-as-mastercard-and-visa-still-process-payments/