Decentralized gambling platform Virtue Poker has raised $5 million in a strategic investment round.

Ethereum-based Virtue Poker plans to conduct an initial DEX offering (IDO) ahead of its mainnet launch in May, the startup announced Monday.The project was incubated by blockchain developer ConsenSys and counts Pantera Capital and DFG Group among its backers.Virtue Poker claims to be the only blockchain-based company to be licensed by the Malta's gambling regulator.The platform aims to use smart contracts and sidechain infrastructure to bring greater transparency to online gambling with regard to withdrawals and other functions.According to ConsenSys founder Joe Lubin, Virtue Poker “legitimizes the use of this technology in the industry.”"I've been working with the Virtue Poker team for nearly three years, watching them build a next-generation poker platform," poker pro Phil Ivey said in a press release.It’s among a crop of startups exploring gambling use cases on the blockchain, including a casino in Decentraland hiring real-life workers to staff virtual tables.