Three Australian employees of James Packer's Crown Resorts will be released from a Chinese jail over the next two months after pleading guilty to illegally promoting gambling.

Key points: Seventeen staff and two former Crown employees fronted court

Seventeen staff and two former Crown employees fronted court Australians' nine and 10-month sentences include time already served

Australians' nine and 10-month sentences include time already served Defence lawyer says detainees are all doing well

The staff have been sentenced to between nine and 10 months' jail after pleading guilty in a Shanghai court on Monday.

Seventeen staff and two former Crown employees faced the court.

Of the three Australians detained, Melbourne-based executive Jason O'Connor was sentenced to 10 months in prison, while China-based staff Jerry Xuan and Pan Dan were sentenced to nine months' jail.

All three have already served eight months in a Shanghai jail, and their sentence includes time already served.

With time served, Xuan and Dan should have one month remaining, while O'Conner should have two months.

In a statement to the ASX, Crown Resorts said O'Connor, Dan and Xuan were also fined the equivalent of $390,000, $78,000 and $39,000 respectively.

In all, 16 of the 19 defendants were fined a total of $1.67 million, which Crown will pay ex gratia, the company said.

Jason O'Connor, pictured here with his family, is currently detained in Shanghai. ( Supplied )

Of those who were fined, Crown said 11 were also sentenced to nine months' jail and five to a period of 10 months, with time in detention since October 14 to be taken into account for them all.

The remaining three defendants, who were granted bailed on November 11, were not fined or sentenced to jail.

Sorry, this video has expired International law expert Dr Alice de Jonge discusses the court cases.

A small team of Australian private security guards helped escort some of the relatives as they went into the court complex.

Other relatives arrived independently, including one supporter who arrived in a Rolls Royce.

Australian consul general in Shanghai Graeme Meehan, who was in the court, said the Australian Government had "monitored this case very closely".

"We've left our Chinese counterparts in no doubt as to our close interest in the case," he said.

Sorry, this video has expired Australian Consul General in Shanghai Graeme Meehan spoke outside court. (Photo: AP/Andy Wong)

Ahead of the sentence, no family members were willing to talk to the media, although some relatives arrived with flowers in expectation of an imminent release.

When asked how the detainees were coping, one of the defence lawyers said: "They are all very good."