Ozark Casino continues to support Missouri
Efforts to build a commercial casino on Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks continue to gain support from local and state officials.
This week, the Miller County Commission, which represents the east side of the Lake of the Ozarks, unanimously approved a resolution supporting the casino development. A group of local businessmen operating under the name Osage River Gaming is spearheading a statewide gambling referendum in 2024 asking voters to approve casino gambling along the Osage River.
Currently, Missouri's constitution only allows riverboats to travel on the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. The law also limits the Missouri Gaming Commission to a maximum of 13 casino licenses, but those licenses have been exhausted.
Miller County commissioners want the state to consider expanding gambling to the Ozarks, possibly by amending the state constitution to include gambling in the Osage and increasing the number of state casino licenses by at least one. Miller County's support comes a week after the Lake of the Ozarks City Council voted unanimously to pass a casino ballot resolution.
Competition Ozarks Casino
Osage River Gaming wants to build a casino on the Osage River near the Osage River Bridge just south of Osage National Golf Links. Bally’s is an interim development partner and will operate the vessel and share revenue with Osage River Gaming.
The subject property is located in Miller County. The casino company made a key decision in late November when the Missouri Secretary of State approved proposed ballot language authorizing casino gaming at Osage Casinos, creating a 14th gaming franchise.
Voter-initiated referendums must obtain signatures from at least 170,000 Missouri residents and must then be verified by the Secretary of State’s Office. In that case, a simple majority vote would be needed in November 2024 to amend the Missouri Constitution.
The tribal casino battle continues
Meanwhile, Oklahoma's Osage Nation, which has historical ties to Missouri and the Ozarks, has not given up on its federal campaign to build a tribal casino at the Lake of the Ozarks.
In June, Lake of the Ozarks city councilors narrowly defeated a resolution calling for the city to support Osage Nation casino plans. Lake of the Ozarks Mayor Dennis Newberry was asked to cast the tie-breaking vote after councilors deadlocked 3-3. Newbery voted "no" and the resolution was defeated.
"I have absolutely nothing against the Osage Nation and their intentions," said Newberry, a local real estate agent."What worries me is that as a businessman, I'm not going to make decisions based on little or no information. Now I have almost no information."
Other local officials believe that a home casino may not be subject to certain state or local taxes and would not bring nearly the same economic benefits to the area as a commercial property.
However, tribal casinos do not require local support. Instead, the Osage Nation simply requires the U.S. Department of the Interior to place their Ozark lands into a federal trust.
In this case, the tribe was granted a license to operate Class I and Class II gaming on sovereign lands under the provisions of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. For Class III gaming, which includes Las Vegas-style slot machines and live dealer table games, tribes will need to enter into a compact agreement with the state.
There are currently no tribal casinos in Missouri.
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Source: www.casino.org
