All those kids are betting on sports and poker but racing is a no-no.
The attitude is the same as the state's which encourages lotteries (I think there are about 5 different lotteries in NY) and is happy to have slots revenue and racing revenue, but which then passes legislation restricting tracks and OTB's. For example, the slots were humming along on Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday while tracks and OTB's are forced to be closed.