Brett Arends's ROI

Opinion: The true value of Kalshi’s ‘$1 billion’ March Madness prize? To you, 8 cents.

Betting exchange Kalshi is offering a $1 billion prize if a customer fills out a perfect March Madness bracket, meaning they successfully predict the winners of all 63 games in the men’s college basketball tournament that starts this week.

The move is a brilliant marketing shtick for Kalshi (more on that in a moment).

Brett Arends is an award-winning financial writer with many years experience writing about markets, economics and personal finance. He has received an individual award from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers for his financial writing, and was part of the Boston Herald team that won two others. He has worked as an analyst at McKinsey Co., and is a Chartered Financial Consultant. His latest book, "Storm Proof Your Money", was published by John Wiley Co.