# Zuckerberg Directs Meta to Build a Prediction Markets App

*Author: David Christopher*
*Published: Jun 23, 2026*
*Source: https://www.bankless.com/read/news/nyzuckerberg-directs-meta-to-build-a-prediction-markets-app*

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Mark Zuckerberg has directed a small Meta team to build a prediction markets app, internally called "Arena," that would compete with Polymarket and Kalshi, according to a [New York Times report](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/23/technology/meta-prediction-markets-app.html).

## **What's the Scoop?**
- **The App:** Arena would function as a standalone app, separate from Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger. Users would likely use points, rather than money, at launch, though Meta has not ruled out eventually introducing real wagers. 
- **Why Now:** The effort is part of a broader Zuckerberg push to build standalone apps around emerging online behavior, driven partly by concerns that Facebook and Instagram have reached saturation. Arena follows Meta's well-worn playbook of cloning fast-growing competitors and chasing trends (i.e. the Metaverse).
- **Meta's Track Record:** This is not Meta's first attempt. In 2020, it launched Forecast, a crowdsourced prediction app using a points system, and shuttered it in 2022. Meta has historically struggled to get standalone apps adopted. Insiders cautioned that Arena remains in development and may end up not be released.
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