Retro gaming company Atari will be teaming up with Decentral Games to launch a crypto casino later in 2021.

The casino will be built in “Vegas City,” which is an Ethereum-based gaming district in Decentraland’s metaverse. It will include Atari-theme games and Atari non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Atari's venture will be the first community-owned metaverse casino platform. In a virtual world, consumers will control an avatar which will be able to interact with their metaverse.

Players will be able to earn Decentral Games’ native token ($DG) by using MANA, Dai and with Atari’s native token ATRI.

The casino is set to launch in May this year and will be leased on an initial two-year term; 88% of the profit share will be contributed to its DG DAO treasury.

According to their joint statement, both companies expect to see bets of $150m in 2021, which will rise to $400m over two years.

CEO of Atari, Frederic Chesnais, believes this partnership “can move the Atari gaming experience onto the blockchain."

During the launch of the Atari Casino, Decentral Games will look to give away exclusive NFT prizes, with platinum-selling DJ Dillion Francis to perform at the launch.

Reports say several are already backing the partnership, with Grayscale Investments and CEO of Digital Currency Group, Barry Silbert, said to hold a keen interest.