Missouri's 2nd Congressional District, key battleground in the lawsuit to secure a ballot spot for the Lake of the Ozarks casino amendment. (Image: Gino's Premium Images/Alamy)

A campaign that seeks to build a casino destination near Lake of the Ozarks filed a lawsuit Tuesday in an effort to get their proposal out to voters on November’s statewide ballot in Missouri.

The Osage River and Gaming Convention (ORGC) committee collected signatures in support of the constitutional amendment required for the casino project to move forward. In May, the committee said that it had submitted more than 320,000 signatures, far more than the 171,000 required under Missouri’s initiative petition process to get the question on the ballot.

Committee Says Some Signatures Inappropriately Rejected

However, questions about that signature campaign were raised last week. The signature requirement not only required a total number across the state but also a minimum of eight percent of legal voters in at least six of the state’s eight congressional districts.

During the verification process, Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft determined that the committee had fallen 2,031 valid signatures short in the state’s 2^nd Congressional District, which includes much of suburban St. Louis. However, the lawsuit, filed in Cole County, claims that the group has identified at least 2,500 signatures that were rejected but which should have counted as valid.

“Verifying every signature on multiple initiative petitions this summer has been a very long process for election officials and we realize mistakes happen,” the committee said in a statement. 

“However, ORGC has always been confident their initiative petition contained a sufficient number of valid signatures from legal voters to qualify for placement on the November 5, 2024, general election ballot and is now asking the Court to do so.”

Currently, the Missouri Constitution only allows casinos in Missouri - who's revenue took a nosedive last month - to be built along the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. The proposed amendment would allow the Osage River to be added to the list of permitted areas and would also override a 2008 law that limits the state to only 13 licensed casinos.

Battling Casino Proposals for Lake of the Ozarks

The proposed Lake of the Ozarks casino is backed by casino operator Bally’s and regional developer RIS, led by Gary Prewitt. According to campaign finance records, each of the partners contributed about $2.1 million for the signature drive and effort to get the amendment question on the ballot.

The project is also designed as a response to a casino development by the Osage Nation. The tribe announced their proposal in 2021, a $60 million development that includes a casino along with a convention center and a hotel.

The Osage Nation is still waiting on approval from state and federal officials to build in the area, after which the Department of Interior would transfer the casino lands into federal trust. That would allow the tribe to run the casino with tribal sovereignty, exempt from Missouri’s laws and gaming regulations.

No matter who builds in the area, a casino at Lake of the Ozarks has the potential to be a lucrative venture. The reservoir has become one of the more popular tourism attractions in the Midwest, with “Party Cove"—the popular name for Anderson Hollow Cove—attracting thousands of pleasure boats on summer weekends.