(Adds quotes from Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop)
SYDNEY, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Three Australian employees of casino operator Crown Resorts Ltd CWN.AX detained in China since mid-October have been formally arrested on suspicion of gambling offences, Australia's foreign minister said on Tuesday.
The detention of the Australian nationals, who include Crown's head of international VIP gambling, Jason O'Connor, held along with 14 other Crown employees, has sparked concern about a wider crackdown on gambling in China. Minister Julie Bishop said in a brief statement emailed to Reuters that the Australian government had been notified of the arrests. A spokeswoman for the minister could not say when the government was told.
Australian officials visited the three men in detention in Shanghai, Bishop said on Wednesday morning.
"We were able to provide advice and support. We provided messages from their families."
"There is an anti-corruption agenda of President Xi Jinping and gambling is one of the areas of interest, so we are subject to the laws of China."
Crown did not immediately respond to a request for comment and it was not clear whether the employees had been charged.
Eighteen Crown employees were initially detained, but one has since been released, Crown said last week. fate of the other 14 was not clear.
Analysts have linked the detentions - which sent Crown's share price tumbling - to Chinese laws banning casinos from advertising or promoting gambling in the Chinese mainland, for instance by offering credit to high-spending clients.
In October, Crown said "less than half" its international VIP revenue, or about 12 percent of total revenue, came from Chinese high-rollers.