Zuckerberg says he wants a copy of Polymarket – but without the real money

The CEO of Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, has tasked a small team at the company to develop an app that works like the prediction markets Polymarket and Kalshi, According to The New York Times. The program, which is called “Arena” does not allow users to bet real money, but “perhaps trust” allows users to bet with points, NOW he says – although Meta apparently hasn’t stopped allowing people to bet with real money.

When the Meta app goes public, it would be the latest example of Meta taking a popular idea from another company and making it its own brand, as it did when it created the Snapchat Stories feature and TikTok’s stand-up video. However, betting markets have also been fraught with controversy, including users being arrested for posting a suspect money. The Wall Street Journal also in the near future that Polymarket paid people to post fake betting videos.

Arena is supposed to be independent of other Meta apps, although the company plans to target users from other platforms. According to NOWMeta’s followers rated the app as “very important.” Meta and Polymarket did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Kalshi spokeswoman Laura Frank declined to comment.