Lake Ozark Considers A Casino Deal With Osage Nation: Here’s What's In It

LAKE OZARK, Mo. — The City of Lake Ozark Board of Aldermen will gather for a special meeting next week to consider approving an agreement with the Osage Nation, as the Indian tribe moves closer toward constructing a hotel-casino in the city.

The Osage purchased a large property at the corner of Bagnell Dam Blvd. and Bus. Highway 54/Osage Beach Pkwy. in 2021, announcing its intentions to build a hotel-casino there. Since then, the Osage Nation has been moving through processes within the U.S. Department of Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs to transfer the land into a trust, whereby it will be eligible for Class II gaming — essentially, various versions of digital slot machines.

At the Lake, the announcement met with some enthusiasm but not a small amount of pushback. Some opposed the casino on ethical grounds; others opposed it while favoring an investor-owned, state-regulated casino that had also been proposed nearby; while others opposed it over concerns that the community would not see the kind of financial benefit from the Osage Casino that it might receive from other similar developments, since the Osage are exempt from paying taxes.

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The proposed agreement with Lake Ozark looks to potentially assuage at least that third group. According to the text of the agreement, the Osage Nation would pay 2.5% of the casino’s Adjusted Gross Receipts every quarter. (Adjusted Gross Receipts was defined as total receipts minus winnings paid to gamblers.) Additionally, the Osage Nation would pay a 1% Resort Fee on hotel room transactions. The Nation would also agree to pay $100,000 per year to the Lake Ozark Police Department, in exchange for receiving law enforcement services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, substantively similar to the services provided to other city businesses.

A non-tribal hotel-casino, would pay, as other businesses in the city pay a sales tax of around 9.5% on rooms, and a much higher tax on Adjusted Gross Receipts (AGR) for gaming; however, most of that revenue would not end up with the city. In fact, City Administrator Harrison Fry said the 2.5% of AGR they agreed on with the Osage Nation is higher than what the city's portion would be from the tax on a state-regulated casino (around 2.1%).

However, the Osage Nation has no obligation to pay any fee or tax to the city at all. So Fry called it a "fairly healthy compromise [that] works to our benefit."

In the proposed agreement, the City acknowledges it also has no authority regarding code compliance in the construction of the hotel-casino. However, the Osage Nation would agree to build the complex in accordance with Osage law, National Indian Gaming Commission standards, and adopted international code standards.

The Osage Nation would also agree that it will not sell fuel nor construct a convenience store on the property. Items typically found in full-service hotels — alcohol, tobacco, and other items — may, however, be sold in the hotel to patrons.

If approved by the City Board of Aldermen, the agreement is to be signed by Lake Ozark Mayor David Ridgely and Osage Chief Standing Bear.

The Osage Nation Plan

In August 2025, the Osage Nation announced its preferred plan at the site, which would include:

- A casino-resort facility including: