'You are being watched', Beijing warns officials who fancy a flutter in Macau

Beijing's top man on Macau affairs has issued a "you are being watched" warning to mainland officials who still fancy taking a chance at the city's casino tables.

As pressure on Macau to clean up and diversify its casino-dominated economy continues - part of President Xi Jinping's wide ranging "tigers and flies" crackdown on corruption - Li Gang, the director of the city's liaison office there, said measures were in place to ensure that officials who head for the former Portuguese enclave "would be discovered".

The top official did not elaborate on what specific measures had been introduced but it is common knowledge that identity checks are now carried out on every person who gambles in casino VIP rooms.

Macau's casinos are known as a key mechanism by which corrupt officials launder funds.

In his first public comments this year on Macau's gaming industry, which has suffered an unprecedented slump in recent months due to the anti-graft drive and a general economic slowdown on the mainland, Li told : "As the crackdown on graft is stepped up, some corrupt officials - including executives of some state-owned enterprises - now dare not go to Macau to gamble.

"Moreover, because of measures taken by Macau's gambling industry, if such officials go gambling in Macau, they will be discovered."