• Atari partners with Decentral Games
• Launching casino on the Ethereum blockchain
• Nostalgic time ahead for fans of Pong and Asteroids

Readers of a certain age will have fond memories of some of the earliest computer games like Pac-Man, Pong and Asteroids.

In the late 1970s and 1980s, these were revolutionary titles under the umbrella of Atari, which went on to launch some of the world’s best-selling gaming computers, long before we ever heard of PlayStation or Xbox.

Now entertainment software company Atari, a French video game holding company that has subsidiaries including Atari Interactive and Atari Inc, aims to join the modern world of iGaming.

It has inked a deal to start at an online casino in May, developed with Decentral Games on the Ethereum blockchain.

$150 million in bets this year

It’s the latest attempt by CEO Frederic Chesnais to revitalize the sleeping giant, although few details have been released.

However, the two companies have boldly said they expect to take bets of $150 million by the end of 2021 – and $400 over two years.

Clearly, none of the original Atari blockbusters of old like Space Invaders lend themselves to much online casino fun, unless there are licensed slot games to come. So, it remains to be seen how the Atari brand will work in an online casino environment.

With that being said, the companies have hinted there will be Atari-themed games available, and Chesnais said the collaboration could “move the Atari gaming experience onto the blockchain”.

There will also be Atari non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which can be leveraged to earn more digital currency for the player.

Vegas City

It is expected the casino will be built within the Decentraland blockchain platform, a place for users to build and monetise virtual reality applications. It is thought Atari has reserved an Ethereum-based gaming district called Vegas City.

“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.