Zuckerberg directs Meta to build play-money prediction market app Arena
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has directed staff to build a prediction market application called Arena, according to New York Times reports cited by Reuters and Bloomberg. The app would operate independently of Meta's other platforms and use a points-based, play-money system rather than real money, distinguishing it from CFTC-regulated event-contract platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi. The project is in early stages with no disclosed product timeline or regulatory approach. Zuckerberg has reportedly sought help from Polymarket and Kalshi according to a later report. The move places the social media giant, with nearly 3 billion daily active users across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, into direct competition with established prediction market platforms that recorded substantial trading volume in recent years.
Even a modestly engaged play-money base across Meta's 3 billion daily users would force Polymarket and Kalshi to defend against a free rival with zero acquisition cost. The CFTC-regulated platforms must now prove their real-money edge can convert users that Meta's scale could scoop at no marginal expense.
Meta's Arena joins a crowded field of new entrants that now includes Robinhood's in-house Rothera exchange and major market-maker desks from DRW, Wintermute, and IMC, all racing to capture share in a sector Kalshi and Polymarket have dominated.