Meta tests secret prediction-market app where users would guess for ‘cred’ — not money

Meta employees are testing a secret prediction-market app that doesn’t allow users to place bets with real money, according to a report.

The app – which is currently called “Takes” – allows users to wager on the outcome of certain questions or events using “cred,” which stands for credibility, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. If the wager is correct, the user wins “cred” points; they lose points if the bet is wrong, according to the article.

As of Thursday, one of the questions on the app was whether former Apple CEO Tim Cook will take over Nvidia now that Jensen Huang has resigned — as President Trump has urged — sources told the Journal. Another question asked who would win on the Friday episode of “Jeopardy.”

It’s unclear if Meta is planning to release the app to the public, but the testing of a product under development by employees is typically a step a company takes before a wider launch, the report noted.

Meta regularly uses a process known as “dogfooding,” where it tests new apps, products and features among its employees before releasing them to the public. Some of the tested products never make it to the public, while others will be tweaked or get different names down the line.

In June, the New York Times reported that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg had instructed a small team to work on a prediction-market app, then called “Arena,” that had a video-game style currency instead of using real money.

He hasn’t publicly said anything about releasing a prediction-market app, but it’s reportedly part of a broader effort by Zuckerberg to create more apps responding to social behavior online – especially amid concerns that Meta’s existing apps like Instagram and Facebook have peaked.

During an employee meeting in the spring, Zuckerberg said that he and Chris Cox, Meta’s chief product officer, had discussed building as many as 50 new apps, according to a recording reviewed by the Journal.

A fake currency would mark a major change from dominant platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket, which allow users to place bets on everything from pop culture and sports to political events.

But it could also help Meta’s app evade the scrutiny that prediction market giants like Kalshi and Polymarket have drawn.

A group of 44 state attorneys general, including New York’s Letitia James, along with dozens of Native tribes and the casino industry have been fighting in court to have the industry regulated by state commissioners. 

They have accused prediction markets of registering as commodities trading businesses to skirt the legal regulations and taxes that apply to gambling platforms and casinos. 

Critics have argued that Kalshi and Polymarket are also harmful to Gen Zers, who have helped the apps surge in popularity. The platforms can serve as an alternative way for ephebes ages 18 to 20 to bet on games, since they’re too young to legally gamble on sportsbooks.

Kalshi and Polymarket have repeatedly rejected the claims, comparing the lawsuits to “political theater” and an attempt at inciting a “media hit.”

The platforms have seen a meteoric rise in popularity since Kalshi launched in the US in July 2021 and Polymarket, in December 2025. Kalshi controls an estimated 90% of the US market for prediction platforms, while Polymarket is the second-largest platform in the space.

Meta did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.