Meta Tests Takes Prediction App With Employees Using Cred Points
Meta has started internal testing of Takes, a prediction market app where employees wager cred points instead of real money. Meta gave no launch timetable and has not said whether real-money contracts are possible, as 13 states pursue enforcement against the sector.
No cash, just cred. Meta has started internal testing of a prediction market app called Takes, in which employees wager points instead of real money, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, Nov. 13, citing people familiar with the matter.
Correct predictions earn cred. Wrong ones lose it. No cash changes hands.
The app was called Arena when first reported in June. At the time, Mark Zuckerberg directed employees to build a standalone points-based app, and Meta had not ruled out eventually allowing real-money betting. The Takes name could still change before any public release.
The WSJ report does not say whether real-money contracts remain on the table. Meta declined to comment and gave no timetable for a public launch.
Regulatory backdrop
A points-only design sidesteps the legal fight engulfing the sector. Kalshi and Polymarket face state lawsuits alleging illegal gambling. Both platforms say their event contracts are legal and fall under federal jurisdiction. Louisiana recently sued prediction market platforms, becoming the 13th state to bring an enforcement action against the industry.
CFTC Chair Michael Selig addressed the dispute on Friday at the Cantor Convergence conference. He criticized states for pursuing criminal charges against prediction market executives and said the disputes should be raised to the Supreme Court.
"Somebody says it's gambling, somebody says it's a derivative,"
Selig said. He added:
"That's not something that should be at the risk of going to jail."
What it means
For now, the play-money format keeps Meta clear of the gambling and derivatives questions that Kalshi and Polymarket are fighting in state courts.
Real money is the open question. The WSJ report leaves it unanswered. If Meta adds cash contracts, it walks straight into a 13-state enforcement landscape. Until then, Takes is an employee-only test with no launch date.
