Those kind of people are called a gambling addict. I've been through there and my life is really messed up back then. Even if you are a gambling addict, treating it as a primary source of income is crazy. A gambler should have at least one source of income to continue the addiction they have. Having none is just like throwing up your life by getting others money just to gamble. A friend or family can help in reducing a gambling activities but it will all depends on the person. As I said I've been there an I received help before from my friends by diverting me but that doesn't stop me until I realized that myself. Don't get me wrong, the support of my friends really helped me realized it that made me change. I guess realizing it by yourself is a new level of matureness that can be earned as an ex-addict.
Gambling addicts like that are more able to stop because of support from the family environment. Likewise, when all capital is used up, assets are finally drained because of stupidity when they can't control themselves when playing.
luckily and i hope i will never be like that. I limit myself because before I really saw for myself how my brother was also destroyed because of gambling addiction. We can take lessons from other people's experiences without having to experience it ourselves. and it's good for everyone.
Addiction is a really bad sickness I tell you, and it's not limited to gambling addiction alone, all forms of addiction is something we all should avoid..
I could also relate to having seen gambling addiction destroy a close friend of mine, he was the one that introduced me to gambling, but me being very conservative with things like this, I was very careful from the beginning..
My friend gambled, wasted not just money, but time and resources, until his wife, out of anger and his refusal to change, left him, and took his son with her, it was a really bad experience for me, but I don't know if he really see it that way as he claimed, cus even till now, he hasnt stopped gambling like before.