I see no reason giving out loans to a friend who is not credit worthy, no matter the situation the person is in and the level of relationship that exists. A person who has a very low income should work hard to increase his income. If he thinks gambling is the only way out, then he is just being lazy and irresponsible. Even if he must gamble, he or she should at least work for the money he will use to gamble, instead of being indebted to lots of people.
Maybe this will be experienced by a small portion of someone's experience because basically it is true that actions like this are not recommended to be carried out because the risks are very high and can worsen someone's life, but maybe there are also only a few people who have experienced experiences like this and maybe this done secretly.