Mark Zuckerberg wants Meta to launch its own prediction market

Mark Zuckerberg is betting that prediction markets are the future.

New York Times Reports it Zuck wants Meta to have its own smartphone app similar to Polymarket, and has given the green light to develop an app, internally calling it “Arena.” The app will be independent of Meta’s other social media offerings, though sources told the newspaper those social sites could direct users to interact with the app.

Described as “experimental but a high priority,” the current concept for Arena is that it will strangely involve no money, sources said. Instead, it will essentially be a video game where users earn points for betting correctly on certain topics. The sources added that the funds could be added later.

Over the past year, prediction markets have fueled big profits and controversy. As of April, trading volume was up on platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi receipt Tens of billions of dollars. Other social media sites – such as X (which Established a partnership With Polymarket last summer) – it sought to capitalize on the industry.

Legal cases also rose. One high-profile case involved a former high-ranking Special Forces soldier who was accused of crimes Using insider knowledge To benefit from the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. George Santos too Currently under investigation Regarding the alleged Kalshi deals.

Countries have also begun to do so Sue prediction markets regarding what they claim are violations of gambling laws. What makes matters more complicated is the current administration Pro market forecast for sure, He has sued the states To file a lawsuit against prediction markets.