Meta develops standalone prediction‑market app “Arena”

Meta is reportedly creating a new standalone smartphone app called Arena, a prediction‑market platform that will let users forecast outcomes on politics, sports, entertainment and other events. The project has received approval from CEO Mark Zuckerberg and is being treated as a top priority within the company. Arena will initially operate with a points‑based reward system rather than real‑money betting, though future monetisation is not ruled out.

The app will be independent of Meta’s existing services such as Facebook, Instagram and Threads, but the company may later direct its 3.56 billion daily users toward Arena to boost engagement. By entering the fast‑growing prediction‑market space, Meta will compete with platforms such as Polymarket and Kalshi, which have seen tens of billions of dollars in trading volume. Meta previously ran a similar product, Forecast, from 2020 to 2022.

Regulatory scrutiny of prediction markets has intensified in the United States, with several states filing lawsuits and the federal administration challenging some actions. Meta’s move reflects a broader push to expand its portfolio of standalone apps and AI‑driven tools beyond its core social‑networking offerings.