The judge of the Lishi District court in north China's Shanxi province was caught earlier this month after armed officers stormed the underground casino and arrested 122 people, the China News Agency reported late on Monday, citing a local newspaper report.

Judge Feng Jianxiang ran the casino under the protection of local law officials, and it took a team of outside police to break up the business, one local said.

"He was tied in too close to the local law and order departments, and that's how he was able to brazenly run a casino for over a year," the report quoted one resident as saying.

The casino in a former sauna was some 200 metres from the local police headquarters.

"Because Feng was a judge, everyone felt safe there," the report said of his casino.