The chief minister of the Indian state of Goa says he won’t authorize any more casinos but the ones currently in operation won’t be closed on his watch.

On Friday, Laxmikant Parsekar (pictured) acknowledged that there was a large group of Goans who want to see their state’s casinos closed for good, and he reassured them by saying his government wouldn’t approve any more casino licenses.

However, Parsekar said there was little he could do to undo the state’s current roster of five floating casinos on the Mandovi river, in part because India’s central government “woos investors by organizing so many summits. Therefore, I will not abruptly kick out investors who have invested in our state.”

Parsekar warned that any efforts to revoke casino licenses would result in legal challenges. Besides, Parsekar believes “it would not be right” to take such action because operators “who were given permissions, whose licenses were renewed, who paid money for it … they cannot be told unilaterally that you leave. This is my position.”