Currently, Missouri law only allows casinos on the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. But an initiative on November’s ballot, if approved, would make way for a casino on the Osage River.
Known as Amendment 5, the initiative would amend the state constitution to expand the number of casino licences from 13 to 14. The new proposal, spearheaded by Bally’s Corp and the Osage River Gaming and Convention Committee (OGCC), would include a casino on the Osage River near the Bagnell Dam at the Lake of the Ozarks.
The initiative is one of two gambling proposals that will be on the Missouri November ballot. The state’s sports teams got an initiative that would allow for statewide retail and mobile sports betting on the ballot. The two biggest wagering companies in the US – DraftKings and FanDuel – back the initiative, but the state’s casinos do not. Caesars Entertainment has contributed $4m to an opposition campaign.
Bally’s and OGCC late last week presented new renderings of the project to the Lake Ozark Board of Aldermen. Plans call for a hotel, conference centre and retail options in addition to the casino. It should be noted that the licence would be available to other bidders. Bally’s, which operates a casino in Kansas City, has expressed formal interest, but other bidders could emerge.
Simple majority needed for passage
If passed, it would override a previous cap on licences that was enacted in 2008. The language in the amendment would allow for casino construction on or near artificial bodies of water. The Lake of the Ozarks is man-made, having been built by the US Army in the late 1920s.
Casinos’ proximity to water is also addressed in the amendment. Currently, facilities must be within 1,000 feet of a riverbank. But the new initiative would “require the prescribed location shall include artificial spaces that contain water and are within 500 feet of the 100-year base flood elevation as established by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.”
The initiative needs a simple majority from Missouri voters to pass in November. Gaming tax revenues, estimated to be approximately $14.4m (£10.8m/€12.9m) annually, would be earmarked for elementary education and literacy programmes.
Amendment years in the making for Missouri casino backers
The efforts to approve a new casino licence in the state have been brewing for several years.
In 2009, a fire destroyed the President riverboat casino, opening up an opportunity for a new licence. By 2018, after years of planning, the OGCC formed a plan to put forth an initiative petition. Representative Rocky Miller persuaded the group to try and pass the issue as legislation instead to help keep costs low.
The legislation should have been heard in 2020 but was derailed by the Covid pandemic. It then failed to pass in 2022 and 2023, mainly due to opposition from the Osage Nation, which plans its own casino for the area. That then led OGCC to return to its original plan of organising an initiative petition. It was approved for the ballot on 30 August after first being rejected for invalid signatures.
Osage Nation also planning casino in area
As mentioned, the Osage Nation has its own designs for a casino nearby and the two projects have clashed over the years. The tribe first unveiled its plans for a $60m casino-hotel on 28 acres in Miller County in late 2021.
As a Class II facility, the Osage do not need state approval for the project, only federal. But the City of Lake Ozark last June voted to reject a resolution that would have given its blessing to the casino. According to 500 Nations, the tribe is still currently awaiting approval from the department of the interior.
If approved, the Osage casino would be the first tribal facility in Missouri. The tribe currently operates seven casinos in Oklahoma. The group claims ancestral ties to the area. “The Osage tribe’s historical influence in the Lake region is still found today in homages such as City of Osage Beach, Osage County and School of the Osage,” the tribe’s website reads.
