Meta reportedly builds prediction market app “Arena” modeled on Kalshi and Polymarket

The app would be independent of Meta's other social media offerings, although sources told the NYT that those social sites could direct users to engagement with the app.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from the New York Times: Mr. Zuckerberg, the chief executive of Meta, recently dispatched a small team at his company to create a smartphone app similar to Polymarket and Kalshi, two employees with knowledge of the matter said. Users would not wager money, and the app would probably rely on a video game-like points system instead, one person said, though the company had not ruled out the eventual use of real money betting. The app is internally referred to as "Arena" and would function independently from Meta's social networking apps, which include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, said the employees, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss confidential plans. Meta aims to grow the app by leveraging its large social networking audiences and directing them toward using it, they said. The effort, which insiders characterized as experimental but a top priority, is part of a broader push by Mr. Zuckerberg to create new types of apps based on emerging social behavior online. More than 3.56 billion people visit one or more of Meta's apps every day, an amount that has raised questions about whether those platforms have reached a saturation point. Arena is one of a handful of apps that Meta is trying out. Others include one called Meta Photos, another stand-alone app which would create new types of media using artificial intelligence, the employees said. [...] Meta insiders have cautioned that Arena remains in development and may not be released. But as executives search for ways to keep the world's largest social media sites thriving, Mr. Zuckerberg appears to be relying on his well-worn product development strategy: Follow the users. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Zuckerberg recently tasked a team inside Meta with building the experimental app, which is internally known as “Arena,” the New York Times reported.

Mark Zuckerberg directed a small team to build the app, internally called Arena, which would initially use a points system rather than real money

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has tasked a small team at the company with making an app that works like the prediction markets Polymarket and Kalshi, according to The New York Times. The app, internally called "Arena" won't let users wager real money, but instead will "probably rely" on allowing users to bet with points, the […]

Meta Platforms Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg has directed a small team to create a prediction market application similar to Kalshi Inc. and Polymarket, but with lower stakes as users won’t likely wager real money.