Nightlife comes to the metaverse as Decentral Games opens Atari Casino

Virtual land governance DAO Decentral Games is continuing to expand into the metaverse nightlife space with the launch of an Atari-branded casino. 

The casino will be the third such gambling establishment for the DAO, which purchases land in virtual worlds like Decentraland and opens digital businesses. Using brand assets from Atari, the provably-fair games are designed to be “nostalgia-inducting,” per a press release from Decentral Games.

Gamers can play with a wide range of tokens, including DAI, ETH, and Decentraland’s MANA, and a “gaming mining” program is also in effect that rewards gamblers with Decentral Games’ governance token, $DG.

Decentral Games — which previously built a number of games for Decentraland on a whitelabel basis before setting out as an enterprise DAO — is expanding into the metaverse nightlife space rapidly. Last week, they announced a digital replica of the iconic Amnesia club. To celebrate the launch of the Atari Casino, they brought in DJ Dillon Francis for a concert with 3,700 worldwide attendees:

Were you one of the 3500 people who turned up for the @DillonFrancis live set, celebrating the @decentralgames @atari Casino launch? An amazing event for the metaverse! Here’s to many more… pic.twitter.com/i2BpaLwvBM

— Decentraland (@decentraland) April 29, 2021

The metaverse — a term for interlinked virtual worlds that enable in-game economies — has been a hot sector for speculators and builders as of late as the NFT space has gained traction — enough so that major players like Fortnite founder Tim Sweeny have admitted that the tech is “going places.” 

The metaverse in particular might have been a unexpected winner throughout the Covid pandemic, as shutdowns led brands and consumers online.

“Lots of industries — entertainment, fashion — have been jumping on the bandwagon, perhaps because they’ve been impacted by Covid. They realize that they can connect with their customers in this new way,” said Decentral Games CMO Lee Lin Liew.

“It’s a new norm and a new market fit for us.”