The news comes despite Southport yesterday missing out on alicence for a "Las Vegas-style" gambling mecca.
Seven applications for traditional-style casinos in Merseyside, which are not affected by yesterday's announcement if granted permission before September 2007, have already cleared their first hurdle, according to a secret list obtained from the Gambling Commission.
The seven have been awarded a "certificate of consent", a necessary first step before the bid is considered by gaming magistrates and local authority planners.
Five applications have been cleared for Liverpool by the Commission, with a further one in Birkenhead and Southport.
They are among 90 casinos given initial approval across the country over the past two years. Only 138 casinos are currently licensed.
Southport spoke of its disappointment yesterday when it failed to grab one of eight licences for a so-called "small" casino boasting up to 80 slot machines.
The independent Casino Advisory Panel instead delighted Bath, Dumfries, Luton, Scarborough, Swansea, Torbay, Wolverhampton and East Lindsey, in Lincolnshire.
The biggest award, of the socalled "super casino", which was long expected to be a battle between Blackpool and London's Millennium Dome, was instead given to Manchester in a shock decision.
Last night, Hugo Swire, the Tory culture spokesman, said: "What is not acceptable is any attempt to increase the number of smaller casinos across the country through the backdoor."
But Cllr Malcolm Kelly, chairman of Liverpool City Council's licensing committee, last night sought to ease fears that the region could become too much of a gambling paradise.
He said: "I do not believe we are going to become Las Vegas on the Mersey.
"Some of the new applications may also mean the same operators may be relocating their operations, rather than adding to the number of casinos in the city."
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