Both are skill based yet former is considered sheer gambling while later is not. Fantasy sports has become norm, while on the other hand if people come to know that you bet on sports you'll be met with eyebrow raise.
^ that's my opinion. What's yours? Do you consider both of them same or different?
I wonder whether you have accidentally confused the sequence here? You mean sports betting is pure gambling but simulated sports are not? I would put those terms the other way around. Betting on simulated sports is as much luck as it can get unless the games are rigged anyway. That's the biggest contra for me personally. It is essentially impossible to verify whether games have been rigged or not if they are simulated. I have no idea but probably there could even be bugs. You can at least watch the real games and develop an opinion yourself whether the game went correctly or not. Simulated sports don't allow for any realistic assessment at all.