The companies said they stopped taking the ads years ago. The settlement was announced by Catherine L. Hanaway, the United States attorney for eastern Missouri, who said the investigation, conducted by her office, the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, dated to 2000. Negotiations have been going on for 12 to 18 months, she said.

Microsoft’s $21 million portion of the settlement includes a $4.5 million forfeiture, $7.5 million to be paid to the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children and $9 million in public service ads over a three-year period, starting next year.

The public service campaign will aim the message that online gambling is illegal at those of college age and younger.

“We’re hopeful that our educational campaign will stop young people from gambling before they start,” the company said. Yahoo’s $7.5 million share of the settlement includes a $3 million forfeiture and $4.5 million in public service ads over three years.

Google will pay $3 million. A spokesman, Jon Murchinson, said the ads were in sponsored links at Google.com and other Web sites that belong to its ad network. “While we did not admit any wrongdoing, the Department of Justice has advised that online gambling is illegal in the United States, and ads to promote it are improper,” he said.

Less than four months ago, NYRA said the high-revenue machines would be operating between Labor Day and Thanksgiving. NYRA president Charles Hayward said Tuesday gaining several approvals from state agencies and the vendor, MGM Mirage, took longer than he hoped.

The state racing oversight board told NYRA it would have to refigure its 2006 budget to exclude the video slots, board spokesman Scott Reif said.

NYRA has run thoroughbred racing in New York since 1955 and its contract with the state expires Dec. 31, 2007. The organization has blamed the rise in other forms of gambling, including off-track betting, for cutting deeply into its business.

NYRA’s past management also had been accused by state and federal investigators of mismanagement. A federal indictment was dropped because of confidence in Hayward’s leadership.

Hayward said a $30 million state bailout, as well as better-than-projected revenues from January and February, will keep NYRA operating in the state into 2007. He declined to project a new date for the video slots to be running.

On Tuesday, the state’s racing oversight board approved the MGM contract so construction should begin soon on the $170 million facility in Queens, Hayward said. Aqueduct’s video parlor is to house 4,500 machines and is expected to generate more than $400 million annually for the state.

Also, a group of New York horse owners and breeders announced they will be among the challengers to NYRA’s franchise. The Empire Racing Association said it has been endorsed by the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, a group of race horse owners, which will have a financial interest in new organization.

Hispanic Gaming Summit will address the opportunities and responsibilities that the fast-growing Hispanic population presents to gaming operators across the United States. Topics addressed in Conference sessions include:

* An in-depth look at the demographic and cultural aspects of the vast Hispanic market

* Case studies on effective marketing to Hispanics by gaming companies

* Communication do’s and don’ts

* Promotional opportunities

* How to build and maintain constructive and mutually rewarding relations with the Hispanic community

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