When legal sports betting arrived in Missouri, it was great news across the board for everyone who had been waiting patiently for things to get done. Things launched in early December, and since then things have been quite positive. Things have only made better with the news that Missouri's sports betting tax revenue took a major jump with February's numbers recently coming in. That's right, February's tax revenue alone for sports betting matched what was posted in the first two months.

According to a report from the Fulton Sun, Missouri posted $1.2 million in sports betting revenue from the taxes. Why is this such a big deal? Well, because in December and January, the total was around $600,000, meaning there was nearly a jump of twice as much for February. This of course has local officials quite happy and it shows the success that can be on the way for future months as well - people are surely waiting on the official March numbers to get here too.

So, why was there such a strong leap for the month of February? Well, it's safe to say that the Super Bowl betting had something to do with that, as it's easily one of the biggest and best events of the year for people to place wagers on. This year, the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots faced off with the Lombardi Trophy on the line, with the NFC West side working its magic to get things done.

A lot of the money went on Seattle to win the title, but plenty of people were still hoping that the Patriots would be able to pull off the upset. At the same time, people who made futures bets likely did not select Seattle to win it all. With all of that said, the large number of wagers on the Super Bowl and other sporting events was great to see for Missouri. While the first two months didn't take off in a major way, the same simply could not be said about February.

March's sports betting revenue is also expected to be strong for Missouri

While we all wait for the official update to come in, it's safe to say that March's sports betting revenue is also expected to be strong for Missouri. Why, you ask? Well, it's simple. The NCAA Tournament is also one if the biggest sporting event for bettors of the year with countless ones being placed. However, on top of that, don't forget that the start of the baseball season also arrived and people always can't wait for the St. Louis Cardinals to be in action.

There's no question that the Cardinals are one of the most historic organizations in all of Major League Baseball. Though they've been through some lean years of late, that doesn't take away from the fact that they are always a threat in the NL Central and people are expecting them to make a splash this year too. Because of that, St. Louis supporters will keep checking the top MLB sportsbooks for the latest odds and get their bets in.

Speaking of sportsbooks, a reminder for you that we're working with several that are offering up some pretty spectacular bonuses and promo codes for you to take a look at. The bonus codes up on BetOnline, Bovada and others continue to draw plenty of interest from people across the calendar year. It goes without saying, both those specials are always going to draw loads of eyes during the baseball season too, which runs until the fall.

In addition to the MLB betting, the NBA action is also going to heat up in terms of betting, as the postseason has arrived. With that, the expectation is also that April is going to be strong too in terms of the revenue. We're just waiting on the official numbers to come in, but the success from February indeed has local officials optimistic that more good news is coming. It's exactly what Missouri betting needed.

Will Missouri's betting handle take a jump in the coming months?

While the revenue has been great, it's safe to say that we're still not seeing quite what we expected in terms of the total sports betting handle - this is the total amount of money that is being wagered for sports betting. In the month of February alone, the betting handle was reportedly $277 million. So, will Missouri's betting handle take a jump in the coming months? 

While on paper this might seem like a lot, It was actually down nearly 30 percent from what was posted in January. Again, there's optimism that things are going to be quite impressive for March and then more of a jump is expected for March too. With the spring and summer months here, big-time numbers should be on the way.

While there have been some growing pains for the state, there's simply no doubt at all that there's also been a ton of relief that legal sports betting was approved and while it took a bit for things to take off, the hope is that things will slowly but surely keep moving in the right direction. A big March, April and May will calm down anyone worried about how things have been going too.