People who are addicted to gambling often try to gamble by borrowing money from others when they do not have it. If we lend money to these people, it is a big risk for us because they will waste the money by gambling and will not be able to pay it back on time. At some point, our relationship will be ruined, so we should stay away from these people.
It seems you've experienced this, friend. When we have a friend who is addicted to gambling and he asks to borrow money, it's best not to lend it to him. Because sometimes even silence is one way to help them, rather than us lending it and maybe what actually happens, as you said, is that the relationship is damaged. Besides, if we lend it to him, it means we are helping him to develop and maintain his addiction. So it's better to avoid this than to overcome it or help it.