Missouri Amendment 5, Osage River Gambling Boat License Initiative (2024)

Missouri Amendment 5
Election date November 5, 2024
Topic Gambling
Status d Defeated
Type Constitutional amendment	Origin Citizens

Missouri Amendment 5, the Osage River Gambling Boat License Initiative, was on the ballot in Missouri as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 5, 2024. The ballot measure was defeated.

A "yes" vote supported allowing the Missouri Gaming Commission to issue one additional gambling boat license to operate on the portion of the Osage River from the Missouri River to the Bagnell Dam.

A "no" vote opposed allowing the Missouri Gaming Commission to issue one additional gambling boat license to operate on the portion of the Osage River from the Missouri River to the Bagnell Dam.

Election results

Missouri Amendment 5
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		1,380,949	47.54%
No		1,523,889	52.46%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

What would Amendment 5 have done?

See also: Text of measure

The amendment would have permitted the Missouri Gaming Commission, the state agency responsible for regulating gambling, to issue an additional license for a gambling boat to operate on the Osage River, specifically between the Missouri River and the Bagnell Dam, near the Lake of the Ozarks. The location would have included an artificial space that contained water and would have needed to be within 500 feet of the 100-year base flood elevation as established by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Under the measure, all state revenues derived from issuing gambling licenses would have been allocated to early-childhood literacy programs for elementary public schools.

What were the rules regarding casinos in Missouri?

See also: Background

As of 2024, there were 13 licensed riverboat casinos in Missouri. In Missouri, casinos must be located on or near a body of water. The Missouri Gaming Commission oversees the licensing and regulation of these casinos. In 2008, Missouri voters approved Proposition A by 56.17%-43.83%, which limited the number of casinos in Missouri to those already built or under construction.

Did Missouri voters previously decide on ballot measures regarding casinos?

See also: Previous gambling ballot measures in Missouri

Missouri voters previously decided six ballot measures regarding riverboat casinos. Out of these six measures, four were approved and two were defeated. Voters first approved on Proposition A in 1992, which authorized riverboat gambling excursions on the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. However, the law resulting from this proposition was struck down by the State Supreme Court. In April 1994, voters rejected Amendment 3, which would have permitted lotteries, gift enterprises and games of chance to be played on the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers on excursion gambling boats, but approved Proposition 6 in November 1994. Voters approved Amendment 9 in 1998, which expanded the floating gambling faculties to be on or adjacent to the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, but rejected Amendment 1 in 2004, which would have expanded casinos to the White River. In 2008 voters approved Proposition A, which increased the state tax casinos pay to 21% and eliminating Missouri's $500 buy-in limit, as well as limited the number of casinos in Missouri to those already built or under construction.

Text of measure

Ballot title

The official ballot title was as follows:

“

Do you want to amend the Missouri Constitution to: allow the Missouri Gaming Commission to issue one additional gambling boat license to operate on the portion of the Osage River from the Missouri River to the Bagnell Dam; require the prescribed location shall include artificial spaces that contain water and are within 500 feet of the 100-year base flood elevation as established by the Federal Emergency Management Agency; and require all state revenues derived from the issuance of the gambling boat license shall be appropriated to early-childhood literacy programs in public institutions of elementary education? State governmental entities estimate one-time costs of $763,000, ongoing costs of $2.2 million annually, initial fee revenue of $271,000, ongoing admission and other fee revenue of $2.1 million annually, and annual gaming tax revenue of $14.3 million. Local governments estimate unknown revenue.

”

Ballot summary

The official ballot summary was as follows:

“

A “yes” vote will amend the Missouri Constitution to allow the Missouri Gaming Commission to issue an additional gambling boat license to operate an excursion gambling boat on the Osage River, between the Missouri River and the Bagnell Dam. All state revenue derived from the issuance of the gambling boat license shall be appropriated to early-childhood literacy programs in public institutions of elementary education. A “no” vote will not amend the Missouri Constitution regarding gambling boat licensure. If passed, this measure will have no impact on taxes.

”

Constitutional changes

See also: Missouri Constitution

The ballot measure would have amended Article III, Section 39(e) of the Missouri Constitution. The following underlined text would have been added and struck-through text would have been deleted:

Note: Hover over the text and scroll to see the full text.

Text of Section 39(e): Riverboat Gambling Authorized on Missouri and Mississippi Rivers--Boats in Moats Authorized

1. The general assembly is authorized to permit upon the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers only, which shall include artificial spaces that contain water and that are within 1000 feet of the closest edge of the main channel of either of those rivers, lotteries, gift enterprises and games of chance to be conducted on excursion gambling boats and floating facilities. Any license issued before or after the adoption date of this amendment for any excursion gambling boat or floating facility located in any such artificial space shall be deemed to be authorized by the General Assembly and to be in compliance with this Section.

2. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, lotteries, gift enterprises, and games of chance may be conducted on excursion gambling boats and floating facilities licensed by the Missouri Gaming Commission upon the portion of the Osage River from the Missouri River to the Bagnell Dam, which shall include artificial spaces that contain water and that are within 500 feet of the 100-year base flood elevation as established by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

3. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, in addition to such licenses as have been authorized prior to January 1, 2024, the Missouri Gaming Commission shall issue one additional excursion gambling boat license. Such license shall only be issued to an excursion gambling boat that will operate upon the portion of the Osage River from the Missouri River to the Bagnell Dam.

4. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, all state revenues derived from the issuance of excursion gambling boat licenses issued after January 1, 2024 shall only be appropriated to early-childhood literacy programs in public institutions of elementary education and shall not be included within the definition of "total state revenues" in section 17 of article X of this constitution.

5. The state auditor shall perform an annual audit of the revenues received and appropriated pursuant to this section to ensure they are being used only for authorized purposes. The state auditor shall make such audit available to the public, the governor, and the general assembly.

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2024

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title and summary for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The secretary of state wrote the ballot language for this measure.

The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 14, and the FRE is 24. The word count for the ballot title is 133.

The FKGL for the ballot summary is grade level 15, and the FRE is 29. The word count for the ballot summary is 88.

Support

Osage River Gaming and Convention (Yes on 5) was the campaign supporting the initiative.

Supporters

Corporations

• Bally's Corporation

Organizations

• Missouri AFL-CIO

Arguments

• John Hancock: "Unlike many places in the state, the Lake of the Ozarks is familiar to everybody. I think everybody will appreciate that a year-round entertainment area is going to be just a tremendous enhancement to that whole experience that is the Lake of the Ozarks."

Opposition

Opponents

American Indian Tribes

• Osage Nation

Arguments

• Meg Cunningham, reporter at The Beacon: "The amendment comes amid an effort from Osage Nation to build a casino at the Lake of the Ozarks. Osage Nation acquired land at the Lake of the Ozarks in 2021 and officially launched a plan to build a casino, which requires coordination with the federal government and clearance from the governor."

Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance requirements for Missouri ballot measures

The campaign finance information on this page reflects the most recent scheduled reports that Ballotpedia has processed, which covered through November 30, 2024.

The Osage River Gaming and Convention (Yes on 5) was the campaign registered in support of the initiative.

	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Support	$10,429,487.18	$2,317.50	$10,431,804.68	$10,427,600.77	$10,429,918.27
Oppose	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Total	$10,429,487.18	$2,317.50	$10,431,804.68	$10,427,600.77	$10,429,918.27

Support

The following table includes contribution and expenditure totals for the committees in support of the measure.

Committees in support of Amendment 5
Committee	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Yes on 5	$10,429,487.18	$2,317.50	$10,431,804.68	$10,427,600.77	$10,429,918.27
Total	$10,429,487.18	$2,317.50	$10,431,804.68	$10,427,600.77	$10,429,918.27

Background

Status of gambling in Missouri

As of 2024, there are certain forms of gambling in Missouri that are legal:

• Casino gambling: As of 2024, there were 13 licensed riverboat casinos in Missouri. The casinos must be located on or near a body of water. The Missouri Gaming Commission oversaw the licensing and regulation of these casinos.
• Lottery: The Missouri Lottery was created in 1985. The proceeds from the lottery support public education in the state.
• Charitable gaming: Charitable games, including licensed bingo, pull-tabs, merchandise coin boards, was restricted to qualified licensed religious, charitable, fraternal, veteran, and service organizations. All bingo tax was deposited into the Proceeds for Education Fund.
• Daily Fantasy Sports: Daily Fantasy Sports was legalized in Missouri in 2016. DFS operators must be licensed by the Missouri Gaming Commission and adhere to regulations designed to protect consumers. Operators include DraftKings, FanDuel, and others.

As of 2024, sports betting was illegal in the state. Illegal gambling, including unlicensed games, was prohibited. The Missouri Gaming Commission was responsible for enforcing gambling laws and regulations in the state.

Casinos in Missouri

As of 2024, there were 13 casinos operating in Missouri. They were:

• Ameristar Casino Resort Spa: Located in St. Charles, Missouri
• Ameristar Casino Hotel: Located in Kansas City, Missouri
• Argosy Casino Hotel & Spa: Located in Riverside, Missouri
• Bally’s Kansas City: Located in Kansas City, Missouri
• Century Casino Cape Girardeau: Located in Cape Girardeau, Missouri
• Century Casino Caruthersville: Located in Caruthersville, Missouri
• Harrah’s North Kansas City: Located in North Kansas City, Missouri
• Hollywood Casino St. Louis: Located in Maryland Heights, Missouri
• Isle of Capri Casino Hotel: Located in Boonville, Missouri
• Horseshoe St. Louis: Located in Downtown St. Louis, Missouri
• Mark Twain Casino: Located in La Grange, Missouri
• River City Casino & Hotel: Located in Lemay, Missouri
• St. Jo Frontier Casino: Located in St. Joseph, Missouri

Previous gambling ballot measures in Missouri

See also: Gambling on the ballot

• Missouri Amendment 4, Management and Advertisement of Bingo Games Amendment (2018)
• Missouri Gambling Loss Limits, Proposition A (2008)
• Missouri Floating Gambling Facilities, Amendment 1 (August 2004)
• Missouri Bingo Operation, Amendment 2 (2000)
• Missouri Charity Raffles, Amendment 8 (1998)
• Missouri Gambling Boats, Amendment 9 (1998)
• Missouri Riverboat Gambling, Amendment 6 (1994)
• Missouri Riverboat Gambling, Amendment 3 (April 1994)
• Missouri Simulcasting of Horse Races, Amendment 3 (1992)
• Missouri Riverboat Gambling, Proposition A (1992)
• Missouri Bingo Regulations, Amendment 1 (August 1990)
• Missouri Horse Racing, Amendment 8 (August 1986)
• Missouri Horse Racing Commission, Amendment 7 (1984)
• Missouri Authorization of Bingo, Amendment 3 (1980)

Path to the ballot

Process in Missouri

See also: Laws governing the initiative process in Missouri

In Missouri, the number of signatures required to qualify an initiated constitutional amendment for the ballot is equal to 8 percent of the votes cast for governor in the previous gubernatorial election in six of the eight state congressional districts. Signatures must be filed with the secretary of state six months prior to the election.

The requirements to get an initiated constitutional amendment certified for the 2024 ballot:

• Signatures: The smallest possible requirement was 171,592 valid signatures. The actual requirement depends on the congressional districts in which signatures were collected.
• Deadline: The deadline to submit signatures was May 5, 2024.

Once the signatures have been filed with the secretary of state, the secretary copies the petition sheets and transmits them to county election authorities for verification. The secretary of state may choose whether the signatures are to be verified by a 5 percent random sample or full verification. If the random sampling projects between 90 percent and 110 percent of required signatures, a full check of all signatures is required. If more than 110 percent, the initiative is certified, and, if less than 90 percent, the initiative fails.

Stages of this ballot initiative

• The petitions, submitted by Greta Box, were approved for circulation on November 28, 2023.
• The Osage River Gaming & Convention committee said it submitted over 320,000 signatures on May 5, 2024.
• On August 13, 2024, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft (R) reported that the ballot initiative did not meet signature requirements.
• On August 30, 2024, a Cole County judge ruled that the initiative had enough valid signatures in six of the eight congressional districts, and should appear on the ballot.

Sponsors of the measure hired Second Street Associates to collect signatures for the petition to qualify this measure for the ballot. A total of $3,988,939.00 was spent to collect the 171,592 valid signatures required to put this measure before voters, resulting in a total cost per required signature (CPRS) of $23.25.

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Missouri

See below to learn more about current voter registration rules, identification requirements, and poll times in Missouri.

How to vote in Missouri

Poll times

In Missouri, all polling places are open from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Central Time. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote.

Registration

Check your voter registration status here.

To vote in Missouri, one must be 18 years old, a United States citizen, and Missouri resident. An applicant may print an application, pick one up from a county clerk's office, or request that an application be mailed. The completed application must be returned by mail. All returned applications must be postmarked at least 27 days prior to Election Day in order to be processed. An applicant may also register to vote online.

Automatic registration

Missouri does not practice automatic voter registration.

Online registration

See also: Online voter registration

Missouri has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.

Same-day registration

Missouri does not allow same-day voter registration.

Residency requirements

To register to vote in Missouri, you must be a resident of the state. State law does not specify the length of time for which you must have been a resident to be eligible. Voters may file change-of-address forms after the registration deadline, up to and including Election Day, provided that they can present photo identification upon doing so.

Verification of citizenship

See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States

Missouri does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual applying to register to vote must attest that they are a U.S. citizen under penalty of perjury.

All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. Seven states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Wyoming — have laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters.

Verifying your registration

The Missouri Secretary of State's office allows residents to check their voter registration status online.

Voter ID requirements

Missouri requires voters to present photo identification while voting.

The following were accepted forms of identification as of April 2023. Click here for the Missouri Secretary of State's page on accepted ID to ensure you have the most current information.

Voters can present the following forms of information:

• A nonexpired Missouri driver or non-driver license;
• A nonexpired military ID, including a veteran’s ID card;
• A nonexpired United States passport; or
• Another photo ID issued by the United States or the state of Missouri which is either not expired or expired after the date of the most recent general election.

If a voter does not have an ID, he or she can obtain one for free by filling out this form.

See also

2024 measures

• 2024 ballot measures
• Gambling on the ballot

Missouri

• Missouri ballot measures
• Missouri ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• Missouri Initiative Petitions (2024)