Osage Nation Casino Near Lake Ozark Moves Closer to Reality

The Osage Nation Casino, which is expected to land on a 28-acre site near Lake Ozark in Miller County, Missouri, has taken a new step in what has so far proven to be a particularly lengthy process. 

The latter included a series of local agreements aimed at infrastructure, services, and revenue sharing.

“Legally Sound and Enforceable”

Original plans for a casino at the location were introduced to the public roughly five years ago in October 2021, when the federally recognized Native American tribe based in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, first spoke about the goal to develop a $60 million hotel complex that would feature a casino, alongside restaurants and an entertainment center. 

Now, administrator Harrison Fry brought the good news for the tribe: “We did also receive the declination letter from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which was a necessary document for one of those two agreements to say that it was legally sound and enforceable.”

Then that was on the revenue sharing side of it, you know, loose ends, it would appear there on the end of their federal process or at least pointing towards that.

Harrison Fry

He also went on to explain that revenue sharing will represent 2.5% of the casino’s net earnings, “or what’s expected to be more than $2million” on a yearly basis. 

In parallel, the Osage Nation has already begun work on its future Cultural Center, which will be located in the generous parking lot next to the Bagnell Dam. The Cultural Center’s doors are expected to open sometime in June 2026.

Repeated Attempts

At the moment, the Show-Me State operates under legislation that permits casino boats on both the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, with a fixed number of gaming licenses available. 

In 2024, an effort to increase this number was mainly aimed at securing a new license for the Osage River location, with the venue’s tax revenue redirected to fund early childhood education programs.

In November 2025, Osage River Gaming and Conventions, a group of private investors, announced its intention to launch a campaign that would amend the state constitution, one year after voters rejected a similar plan. 

The group was interested in pursuing another attempt to establish a casino on the Osage River, along Highway 54, which could have led to a face-off between two casinos in Lake Ozark.