Tribe Makes Another Attempt At Lake Of The Ozarks Casino

Osage Tribe Agreed To Deal With City After Voters Rejected Plan In 2024

A new Missouri casino might be coming to the Show Me State. The Osage Tribal Nation is once again attempting to build one on the Lake of the Ozarks.

The tribe recently announced an agreement with the City of Lake Ozark. The deal allows the tribe and city officials to finalize plans.

The tribe’s proposed casino has 40,000 square feet of gaming space, a 150-room hotel, meeting rooms, a fitness center, a pool, and more.

“They are able to do a casino here within the city limits of Lake Ozark,” Lake Ozark city administrator Harrison Fry told local media. “(The agreement between the city and Osage Nation) explains very clearly the level of municipal services they would get–police, water, sewer, etc., and then the revenue that the city would get in exchange for those services.”

Hurdles Remain

Despite reaching an agreement with the city, a few obstacles remain before construction could begin. The Osage plan would still need approval from the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees tribal gaming through the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC), an independent regulatory agency within the department.

Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe (R) would also eventually have to sign off on the plan as well. In 2024, voters rejected a ballot initiative allowing for a 14th casino in the state on the lake.

The state mandate of no more than 13 casinos, however, doesn’t apply to the Osage property. The tribe’s casino would be regulated under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988, which governs and regulates tribal casinos.

“They are still in their petition process with the Bureau of Indian Affairs to have that 27 acres converted into federal trust land, which would then give them the opportunity to conduct gaming enterprises on the site,” Fry said.

“Our understanding is the Osage Nation, of course, would like to get this underway as quickly as possible. But that federal process, you know, it takes a lot of diligence on their part and from the feds.”

Missouri Gambling Developments

Also in Missouri gambling news, online sports betting will launch on Dec. 1. DraftKings and Circa Sports became the first two operators to receive sports betting licenses.