"Some people equate options trading with gambling, but it’s an erroneous assumption. Most gambling games are based on fixed odds and no amount of skill can change those odds. What it means is that anyone who gambles in order to earn money will lose in the long run. So if you know that you will most certainly lose, why would you gamble?"

Sure, when you play against the house in certain games the odds are always against you (some, not all games*) but trading would be more akin to gambling against other people, more like poker.

In anything where you compete against other people skill definitely factors into how well you will do and to say there is no element of gambling involved in trading is disingenuous. You can put all your knowledge and insights to use, play the %'s correctly and still come out a loser on a particular trade.

So if you are risking something of value on an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning money, how is that not gambling?