A Stillborn Law: Federalism, Medium Arbitrariness, and Legislative Abdication in India’s Online Gaming Act, 2025

Soham Gupta argues that the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 creates a structural constitutional crisis by undermining India's federal architecture, violating fundamental rights, and impermissibly delegating legislative authority. The paper advances a three-pronged critique: first, that the Act breaches federalism by enabling Parliament to regulate a subject constitutionally reserved for the States under Entry 34 of the State List; second, that it introduces the novel concept of “medium arbitrariness” by irrationally distinguishing between online and offline skill-based games despite settled judicial precedent recognising that the medium of play does not alter the nature of the activity; and third, that it amounts to legislative abdication by conferring sweeping rule-making and enforcement powers upon regulatory authorities without adequate statutory guidance. Drawing upon constitutional doctrine, comparative regulatory approaches, and the proportionality framework, the author concludes that the Act represents a three-fold constitutional failure and advocates a regulatory framework based on safeguards, licensing, and consumer protection rather than blanket prohibition.

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