As long as there's a risk involved and it is some kind of prediction, win or lose type of games, then I would always consider it as a form of gambling.
Sometimes even if it's not directly money as long as it have a value and it is being risk then yes it is gambling.
Sometimes we forget that it is gambling and still think it is not gambling. We think that anything that uses money is gambling, whereas that does not use money, it is not gambling so in predicting it, we say it is not gambling. But as you said, whatever it is, if there is value to be gained from predictions, it is gambling. Well, that is the response from people only.