Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | China cracks down in 'Asian Las Vegas':
"Chinese authorities have arrested almost 1.2 million people suspected of illegal betting offences during a nine month crackdown, state media reported today.
The arrests were part of a nationwide anti-gambling campaign from January to September in which police seized �166m and investigated 163,000 cases.
The crackdown was aimed mainly at preventing public officials from gambling away public money in Macau, the small special administrative region in southern China that is becoming known as the 'Las Vegas of Asia'.
Bright lights: free market economics and authoritarian Chinese rule have proved an ideal mix for the growth of gambling in the former Portuguese colony of Macau."
