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The license fee to open one of four upstate casinos in New York will range between $20 million and $70 million, the state Gaming Facility Location Board said today.

The board approved the request for applications for the four upstate casinos to be built in three regions: the Southern Tier, Capital region and Catskills.

The request for applications include a licensing structure for the winning bidders. The money would be paid to the state.

The most expensive license would be to build in either Dutchess or Orange counties -- the two closest to New York City. The license fee there would be $70 million.

Rochester developer David Flaum wants to build a casino near the Woodbury Common outlets in Orange County, but may face local opposition.

It would be $50 million to build a casino in the rest of the Catskills, and $35 million for a second casino in the Catskills if one is built in Orange or Dutchess counties.

It would be a $50 million license for a casino in the Albany area, and there are several proposals, including one from Flaum there too.

In the Southern Tier -- Broome, Chemung, Schuyler, Tioga or Tompkins counties -- the license would cost $35 million. But in Wayne or Seneca County, where Rochester mall magnate Thomas Wilmot wants to build a casino, it would be $50 million.

If a casino were to be built in either Seneca or Wayne counties, a second casino in the Southern Tier would carry a $20 million license fee.

There are at least three casino proposals in each region already, and the selections are likely to be made this fall. The Legislature and Gov. Andrew Cuomo approved the casino plan last year, and voters last November agreed to change the state constitution to allow for privately owned casinos in New York.

Applicants will be required to participate in an April 30 conference that will be open to the public. The application deadline is June 30.

“This marks the beginning of the bidding process for long-anticipated gaming facilities to benefit Upstate New York,” said Paul Francis, a location board member and a former state budget director, in a statement. “We look forward to reviewing and evaluating the applications and will continue to conduct an open, honest and transparent process.”

Each application comes with a $1 million fee to be used by the board to investigate each proposal. If the board doesn't use all the money, the remainder would be returned to the applicant.

To apply, a bidder "must illustrate to the board's satisfaction that local support has been demonstrated."

The board detailed what part of that means today: The applicant must present a resolution passed by the local legislative body of the host municipality supporting the application since Nov. 5.

But other local support will also be considered as part of the local support needed for approval, the board said.

The applications will be evaluated on three major factors: 70 percent on economic activity and business development factors; 20 percent on local impact; and 10 percent on workforce investments.

The board said that over the next 10 days it will detail the amount of capital investment each casino in each region would need to be in order to win a license.