Yes and no. Depends on the application, the process used etc. Gelcoats are generally sprayed or brushed on, and largely perform the same function as paint. Generally you would apply a gelcoat to the surface of a mould, or in the case of tooling gelcoat, to the surface of a plug. They are thixotropic (not the same as thick, a substance can be thick without being thixotropic) and don't need to self level, because they take on the surface of the mould or plug. Coatings on the other hand are generally applied to an already completed laminate. To reduce the amount of finishing work, they need to have good self-leveling properties. Often the function of gelcoats vs coatings cross over, and which one you use is dependant on the application and the process you are using.
In regards to the difference between laminating and coating, you are talking about the products on a broad basis. A laminate is any material that is built in layers for the sake of improving or adding desirable qualities to the final laminate. So laminating a book for example, is the process of adding a layer of plastic to a 'layer' (the book) of paper. Plywood is a type of laminate, car windows are a type of laminate. It's just the processes used that differentiate them. Fibreglass and carbon fibre are laminates, layers of fibres held together by a matrix of resin. Hence, the resin used for this is called laminating resin.