You can fetch a better rate by lending bitcoins on this forum. People get a rate as high as 3%-7% per week which is better and you can lend people with a good reputation to ensure the borrower is trustworthy.
I also buy/sell altcoins with my btc and earn a good profit. I bought ETH when the price was 0.03 and now the price reached 0.06. It's much better than lending money.
Lending money to individual users possess a much larger risk than gambling as you never know whether you will be getting your coins back,trading is another form and the risk involved are minimal if you are entering in a bull market and almost everyone is having a good time entering the coins during the bull run and so is the reason everyone is reaping good profits.