Zuckerberg Directs Meta to Develop Prediction Market App, Internally Called 'Arena'

On June 24, The New York Times reported that prediction market platforms Polymarket and Kalshi have become some of the fastest-growing platforms on the internet, allowing users to predict outcomes of various events, from Super Bowl results to the duration of the U.S. President's State of the Union address. Now, Zuckerberg has also noticed this trend and aims to enter this field. According to two informed employees, Meta CEO Zuckerberg has recently assembled a small team to develop a smartphone app similar to Polymarket and Kalshi. However, users will initially not use real money for betting; the app may adopt a points system similar to video games for predictions and rankings, although the company has not ruled out the possibility of introducing real betting features in the future. This app is internally referred to as 'Arena' and will operate independently from Meta's existing social products, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger. Insiders indicate that Meta plans to leverage its vast social network user base to drive traffic to Arena and encourage user engagement with the product. The project is currently still in the experimental phase but has been designated as one of the company's key initiatives. This is also part of Zuckerberg's strategy to explore new social behaviors and product forms. Currently, the total daily active users across Meta's applications exceed 3.56 billion, and the market is beginning to question whether user growth on its core social platform is nearing a ceiling. Meta Platforms (META.O) is also attempting to develop an application called Meta Photos, which will utilize artificial intelligence to create new forms of media.