This is a satisfying one to explain, because the thing that confuses people is exactly the thing that identifies the cause: a keyboard works in those ports but a gamepad does not.
Not all USB ports on a motherboard are equal. The rear ports are typically split across different internal controllers, and several are often behind an internal hub rather than wired directly. A keyboard and a USB stick are undemanding and tolerant: they enumerate slowly, they do not care much about timing, and they work behind almost anything. A gamepad is a low-speed HID device that enumerates in a particular way and then streams continuously, and some controller chips and internal hubs handle that combination poorly. The controller gets power, which is why it lights up, but enumeration never completes, so neither Windows nor the browser ever sees a device. A lit controller that does not appear anywhere is a very specific signature and this is its usual cause.
There are two other common contributors on rear ports. USB 3 ports generate radio noise around 2.4GHz, which matters for a wireless dongle in that port though not for a wired pad like yours. And motherboard firmware has settings for legacy USB support and for per-controller power that can leave some ports less tolerant than others.
Practically, this is not usually worth chasing hard. A BIOS update sometimes fixes it, and disabling fast startup in Windows occasionally does too, because the hybrid shutdown can leave USB controllers in a state that a fresh boot would clear. But the honest answer is that using the port that works, or adding a powered USB hub, costs nothing and solves it permanently. If you want to understand which ports are grouped together, Device Manager with the view set to show devices by connection will lay out your USB topology and you will see immediately which ports share a hub.
