The issue around which this study focuses is gamification, which takes into account the peculiarities of adult learning, the essence of cognitive mechanisms and the way of acquiring new knowledge by people who, in order to learn effectively, want to influence and decide what to learn, at what time and they take full responsibility for it. The text presents the possibilities of using gamification in the context of formal and informal education of adults. The first part of the text discusses the definitional approaches operating in the literature and the basic understanding of gamification. Then its internal and external structures and processes are discussed. The author highlights the advantages of gamification as an effective motivational strategy in adult education. The advantages are analysed in the context of the self-determination theory of Edward L. Deci and Richard M. Ryan.