Well definitely there is a better odds because you are not playing against the house but to other players. The outcome of the game can easily predicted as long as you have knowledge on both team. Unless the game is rigged or there is an upset win, people that has experience in this kind of field will surely have a correct prediction.
And I think we aren't playing only against the gamblers, but depending also theoretically of the skills of the teams or sport's players and not depending of our luck to win as in other gambling games. But surely it's a modality of gambling.
Sometimes it's hard to win, even knowing a lot about the game and its teams, because some teams have equal strenght and power, so it's almost unpredictable to know who will win or if they will have a game tie. That is the proof it's really a gambling game, no guarantees here anyway.