e gambling regulators have approved licences for three new casinos to be built in the upstate area of New York.

The Gaming Commission's five members unanimously approved each without comment, concluding that applicants had met legal, financial and environmental requirements.

Last year the sitting board selected applications for the Montreign Resort Casino in Catskills, Rivers Casino & Resort in Schenectady and Lago Resort & Casino in Finger Lakes from 16 proposals.

The gambling resorts will include restaurants, hotels, performance centres, slot machines and poker rooms, and will generate over 3,200 full-time jobs and $265m in taxes.

The largest of the three, Montreign, is expected to open in the spring of 2018.

Manny Pearlman, chief executive of Empire Resorts, the owner-operator of Montreign, told the New York Times: "I’m just happy for the company and the people of Sullivan County."

River Casino is on track to open its doors by summer 2017.

"We look forward to beginning construction as anticipated, to bringing jobs to the Capital Region and to making Rivers Casino and Resort a successful economic engine," said Greg Carlin, Rush Street Gaming chief executive.

Lago Resort & Casino is expected to open in the first half of 2017.