Lake Ozark Approves $100 Million Osage Nation Casino Plan, Supports Private Casino

^{The Osage Nation flag, representing the tribe behind plans to bring a $100 million casino to the Lake Ozark region of Missouri. (Photo: Osage Casino at the Lake of the Ozarks / Facebook)}

The Lake Ozark Board of Alderman unanimously approved an agreement with the Osage Nation on Wednesday to allow the tribe to build a hotel-casino in the city, a key step towards finally bringing a casino to the region of Missouri.

With the agreement in place, the city’s mayor can now send a letter of intent in support of the casino project to the Missouri Gaming Commission.

Lake Ozark to Receive Fees, Police Funding from Osage Nation

Under the agreement, the Osage Nation would be allowed to build a $100 million hotel and casino complex on 27.6 acres of land that the Osage purchased in 2021 at Bagnell Dam Boulevard and Osage Beach Parkway in Lake Ozark, Missouri. The Osage Nation plans to assert its right to build the casino under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA).

According to current plans, the casino will feature 750 Class II gaming machines, such as video lottery terminals (VLTs). The Osage Nation would be allowed to offer these games without requiring a compact with the state of Missouri but would need such an agreement in place to offer Class III gaming like table gaming or slot machines. 

“This partnership with the Osage Nation represents a defining moment for the City of Lake Ozark,"  said David Ridgely, Mayor of Lake Ozark. "The Osage Nation’s investment will bring new opportunities, jobs, and tourism to our city. Now that we have these agreements in place, that address many of the questions raised by our residents, we are proud to support this historic step forward."

The city of Lake Ozark will collect 2.5% of adjusted gross gaming revenue, as well as a one percent resort free from the hotel, as well as an annual payment of $100,000 for services from the Lake Ozark Police Department. City officials have said they expect an annual revenue of about $1.9 million if the casino opens as planned. 

Private Casino Also Gets Positive Vote

That wasn’t the only casino-related vote by the Board of Aldermen on Wednesday night. After the Osage Nation vote, the Board also unanimously approved a resolution in support of a privately developed casino project by a group known as Lake of the Ozarks Community Gaming.

While that name might not sound familiar, the plan to bring a private casino near Lake of the Ozarks isn’t new. Last year, the same group of investors were able to send a proposal to the November state ballot in an effort to get a constitutional amendment that was required for an Osage River casino.

But that proposal, known as Amendment 5, was shot down by voters, with over 52% voting against the amendment. Bally’s was working with the investors on the proposal, but had been opposed by the Missouri Gaming Association, which said it was committed to a cap on the number of commercial casinos in the state and didn’t support opening casino gambling on a new waterway.

The new proposal would still bring a casino to Lake of the Ozarks but would do so without Bally’s as a partner. The group behind the project says it is wary of attaching an operator to their project before they get a constitutional amendment passed, as it says at least one competing casino firm spent $10 million to defeat the amendment before the 2024 vote. 

The new plan from Lake of the Ozarks Community Gaming would see another proposed amendment hit the state ballot in November 2026. Investor Andy Prewitt told LakeExpo that the group plans to redraft its ballot language and submit its request to the Missouri Secretary of State as early as this week.

“Just about every major initiative ever passed required more than one try at the ballot box,” group member Tim Hand told LakeExpo. “That’s just Missouri politics.”