The potential arrival of two casinos has been approved by the Lake Ozark Board of Aldermen.

The municipal government in the sportsman's haven approved a tribal casino from the Osage Nation of Oklahoma during their meeting on Wednesday. An deal requiring the Osage casino to give the city 2.5% of its gross gaming revenue (GGR) was approved by the alderman.

In addition, the tribe will provide $100,000 a year to the Lake Ozark Police Department and receive 1% of the casino hotel's room earnings. The tribe is expected to provide the local government with around $2 million a year.

On the site of the Quality Inn at the intersection of Bagnell Dam Boulevard and Osage Beach Parkway, the Osage Nation is still requesting federal approval for a tribal casino.

A 40K-square-foot casino with 750 slot-like electronic bingo machines, a 150-room hotel, 6,000 square feet of meeting space, and multiple eateries and bars are all included in the $100 million construction proposal. According to the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), the project is a tribal initiative, thus it won't have sports betting, live-dealer table games, or standard slot machines like those found in Missouri's riverboat casinos.

Commercial Support 

On Wednesday, a group of local investors informed the Lake Ozark Aldermen about their intention to revive an effort to bring a commercial riverboat casino to town, just up Bagnall Dam Blvd. This same organization was responsible for the unsuccessful November 2024 statewide amendment that would have permitted casino gambling on or near the Osage River.

However, Lake of the Ozarks Community Gaming has taken over for the Osage River Gaming & Convention Committee. In order to construct a casino resort on a former quarry east of Highway 54 close to the Lake of the Ozarks sign, the organization is requesting voter permission.

For its 2024 campaign, the group collaborated with Bally's Corporation. The 2026 initiative does not include the gambling corporation.

According to the Lake of the Ozarks Community Gaming group, choosing Bally's early in the previous year was a factor in Amendment 5's defeat. The Osage Nation and other interests funded a $10 million opposition campaign, which resulted in nearly 52.5% of statewide ballots voting against the proposal to extend riverboat casino gambling to the Osage.

After learning about the group's plans for a 2026 vote, the aldermen overwhelmingly approved a resolution endorsing the business venture.

The Waiting Game 

Before the Osage Nation can begin construction on its tribal casino, the federal government must transfer its 29 acres of land into the public trust. In order to permit a casino on the Osage River, Lake of the Ozarks Community Gaming must change the state constitution in a statewide ballot referendum in November 2026.

The Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs evaluation of the Osage Ozarks Environmental evaluation—a sign-off required to declare the territory sovereign—was halted by the federal government shutdown.