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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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Fascinating analysis on the constitutional overreach in the Online Gaming Act, 2025—especially the point about medium arbitrariness. It's striking how distinctions based on delivery method, like online vs. offline, can undermine legal consistency. This reminds me of how standardized references, such as clear measurement or conversion charts, help maintain uniformity across systems. For those working with regulatory frameworks, having reliable, printable reference tools like those on ChartsPrintables can support clarity in compliance and implementation.