Atari, the video game developer behind retro classics such as Pacman and Pong, is planning to launch a cryptocurrency-based casino later this year.
The casino will be built on an Ethereum-based gaming district known as “Vegas City”, part of blockchain platform Decentraland which allows users to purchase, build and monetise virtual reality applications, and will include Atari-themed games and Atari-based nonfungible tokens (NFTs).
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NFTs are different from other digital assets such as Bitcoin in that they are digital tokens with unique characteristics, with metadata inside them acting as a permanent and unalterable record of what the token represents.
Visitors to the casino will also be able to use Decentral’s native token, $DG, as well as Atari’s own native ATRI token.
According to reports, the venture will launch in May and will be leased for an initial two-year term, while bets are expected to reach US$150mln in 2021 and rise to US$400mln over two years.
“The casino space presents a massive opportunity to leverage the portfolio of Atari properties through a range of social and real money casino opportunities”, Atari said in a statement.