The floating casinos in the Indian state of Goa have been granted a one-year stay of execution.

On Thursday, Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar formally announced that the operators of the state’s four offshore casinos on the Mandovi river had been given until March 31, 2017 to find an alternate waterway to call home. The reprieve came on the same day the casinos’ licenses were set to expire.

Parsekar insisted that the relocation could happen before that 2017 deadline, assuming a suitable replacement location can be identified. Parsekar said the BJP had shortlisted four potential locations but they proved “either not feasible for the casino operators or there was opposition from the locals.” The government is therefore “thinking seriously” about amending the licenses to allow land-based operations, as there is ‘no opposition to land casinos’ in Goa.

Thursday’s reprieve marked the third time the BJP government has failed to observed a deadline for shifting the floating casinos. Parsekar said his administration had opted not to adhere to this latest deadline after receiving petitions from casino staff who feared losing their jobs or being forced to commute prohibitively long distances.