^^^It is just a like trying to get a right answer when you are asking the wrong question in my view. The OP speaks about poverty and gambling, which is already something of a red flag. Gambling is only for fun unless you are a professional player - e.g. a Poker professional, which is usually not the case if you are poor since you will probably have not money to play and not that much free time to do so.
When one plays gambling for fun it does not have much effect on him but when one chooses it as a profession it causes him a lot of financial loss. Because the more serious you are in gambling and the more you panic, the more you will lose. So of course gambling can make someone poor. But it is not very fast. A person gradually increases the amount of gambling as he gradually becomes addicted and gradually loses his wealth.
Being able to play gamble for fun depends also on if the gambler have other means of earning stead income. This is because there is no way someone whose only hope us gambling will gamble with his money and call it fun. This is why it is expected that before putting money into gambling, provisions for basic personal needs must first be made. This will make the gambler not to be too engrossed in the gambling but rather see it from the angle of fun and entertainment. I think this will help solve the issue of gambling addiction once and for all.