Everyone will have a contrary view and opinion about this controversial topic but the truth remains that future trading is less risky compare to gambling. Future trading involves strategies and analysis which help to minimize it's risk while gambling is purely based on chances. As a future trader, you have control over your fund and you can exit the trade if it decline your prediction but gambling is totally different because once you click on the bet button you have no control over it again until the game is settled either in your favor or against you.
Normally, it's not possible to predict the future perfectly but traders have the advantage of making use of some strategy like economical news, historical data and some other information that aid their prediction and offer traders a better chance of making profit than in gambling.
You are right that futures trading is a bit safer, but the only thing that makes it so is the ability to exit, losing only part of your money, not all of it like you can do in gambling. On the other hand, the profits are also much smaller. You rarely get x2 right away. Usually it's a percentage of your investment. So instead of winning 100% or losing it all, you win 10% or lose 10%.
Analysis doesn't help much because the market can be manipulated and you don't own the asset. You bet on a prediction and never have anything but a promise of payment from the fund.