Are Playoffs Lotteries?

Not content with penalty shootouts often, misleadingly, described as lotteries, the BBC now asks whether promotion playoffs - in which the teams finishing 3rd-6th compete in a mini knockout tournament for a third promotion spot - are also lotteries. The outcome, however, is decided by playing football, rather than drawing straws, so the obvious answer is no, not unless all football is a lottery. I wonder if this (lottery) is how BBC journalists decide what to write about...