China has closed more than 100 casinos operating along its borders as part of an intensified crackdown on gambling, according to a Tuesday report by a state-run newspaper.
The recent crackdown is the result of worries that the casinos were being used to launder embezzled government funds or illegal business earnings.
Gambling is illegal in mainland China but many Chinese go to casinos in Macau and neighboring countries such as Vietnam and Myanmar in the south and Russia in the north.
Zhang Ju, Ministry anti-gambling spokesman, says more shut downs are expected this year, due to better cooperation with neighboring countries. According to the China Daily, this, as well as police action, have caused casinos to drop from 149 casinos in 2005 to only 28 this year.
In previous campaigns, China has cut off power and water supplies to the casinos and blocked connecting phone lines.
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