A petition that would have allowed Missouri residents to vote on a casino in the Lake of the Ozarks fell short of the state’s signature requirement, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.
The agency was in charge of certifying the signatures. However, they found that proponents failed to meet the required verification threshold. As a result, the issue won’t be on the ballot this November.
Backers of the initiative say they are exploring options after the stunning rejection.
Petition deemed to be thousands of signatures short
If the signatures were certified and voters said “yes” to the proposal, Missouri would’ve added the 14th brick-and-mortar casino to its market. The proposal allowed executives to build a new Bally’s casino on the Osage River below the Bagnell Dam.
For now, brick-and-mortar casinos make up the bulk of the Show Me State’s casino market. Lawmakers haven’t passed Missouri online casino legislation yet. Thus, sweepstakes and social casinos are Missourians’ only online casino options.
Missouri state law requires ballot initiatives to collect signatures from the electorate. It dictates the group behind the proposal must obtain the equivalent of 8% of the total number of voters who voted for governor in the most recent elections. This year that translates to roughly 171,500 signatures from six of the state’s eight congressional districts.
In May, the Osage River Gaming & Convention committee said it turned in more than 320,000 signatures. But the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the initiative was thousands of verified signatures short of the number needed in three of Missouri’s congressional districts.
The Ozarks casino measure was one of four initiatives seeking certification this year. Petitions for the other three, including one that would legalize Missouri sports betting, were recently approved by the Secretary of State’s Office and will be on the ballot in November.
Casino approval would have amended Missouri Constitution
If passed, the casino initiative would have changed the Missouri Constitution. Current law permits casinos only along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. A ballot initiative passed by Missouri voters in 2008 also capped the total number of casino licenses the Missouri Gaming Commission can issue at 13.
The 2024 initiative would have amended the law to allow the commission to issue a single excursion gambling boat or “non-floating facility” license for a casino in the Lake of the Ozarks.
Supporters say the casino would have provided up to 800 permanent jobs, as well 500 construction jobs. The ballot summary said taxes on winnings at the new casino would raise $14.3 million annually. The money would have supported literacy programs in Missouri’s public schools.
Casino would have been in Eagle’s Landing area of Lake Ozark
Missouri state lawmakers have attempted to pass legislation related to a casino in the Ozarks four times, including last year. Because casino expansion would have required amending the state constitution, any measure would have had to gain approval from voters. Despite bipartisan support, resolutions in 2023 to put the issue on the ballot never made it out of committee.
That led to this year’s citizens’ initiative petition, which bypasses legislative involvement. The petition was financially backed by Bally’s and Lake of the Ozarks developer Gary Prewitt. They each pitched in $2.1 million to support the campaign, according to the Post-Dispatch.
If passed, the casino would have been Bally’s second in Missouri. The company operates Bally’s Casino-Kansas City. The casino would have been located on 20 acres in the Eagle’s Landing development operated by Prewitt in Lake Ozark.
Door not totally shut on Ozarks casino ballot initiative
The fight to get the Ozarks casino proposal on November’s ballot is not necessarily over.
Ed Rhode, a spokesperson for the group behind the measure, told the Post-Dispatch that legal options are being considered.
“We are confident we have collected enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot. Meanwhile, our legal team is assessing our next steps. We are confident that after all the signatures are counted and verified, we will appear on the November 2024 ballot.”
There’s recent precedent that suggests the measure could still appear on the ballot. In 2022, a petition to legalize marijuana was also denied after it was deemed short 2,000 signatures.
According to the Missouri Independent, organizers behind that measure asked the agency to review the signatures again. They provided a list of signatures they felt were incorrectly disqualified. The initial decision was overturned and the measure was placed on the ballot that November.
Voters ultimately approved it.
