Scores of casinos along the mainland's borders with Russia and Burma have closed amid a major crackdown by Beijing on gambling.

A dearth of high-rolling mainland gamblers has shuttered all but one of the 82 Burmese casinos along the border with southwestern China, official media said Monday. Along Russia's border with northeastern Heilongjiang province, 18 out of 28 casinos have been forced to shut.

``Those remaining in operation are in a poor state,'' Xinhua reported, quoting an unidentified official with the national anti-gambling task force. Beijing has taken a hard stance recently against illegal gambling, thought to be linked to official corruption, organized crime and other social ills.

Police have uncovered more than 48,000 gambling cases - including 320 that used the Internet - and seized 230 million yuan (HK$216.9 million) since the crackdown began at the start of the year, Xinhua said. It reported in late January that 15,000 people had been arrested in that month alone.

The high-profile crackdown has apparently scared many mainlanders away from the poorly regulated border casinos that are a prime venue for illicit gambling. Players are believed to often use embezzled government funds or illegal business profits and authorities have identified the casinos as a source of capital flight, Xinhua said.

Beijing banned gambling, long a popular pastime, after the 1949 Communist revolution. But betting resurged as social controls loosened in recent years, with mainland gamblers becoming sought-after customers in casinos from Macau to Las Vegas.ASSOCIATED PRESS