Having a steady and regular income is very important as a gambler because it would enable you to scrap out money you should use for gambling, feeding, taking care of yourself and family and other miscellaneous.
Actually, steady and regular income is a must for someone in order to be a gambler, in my opinion. Otherwise, this person isn't suited to be a gambler, because they lack a very essential requirement, which is "to have money they can afford to lose". Someone who lacks a steady income or a job should be seeking for that, instead of gambling. Without a regular income, where is this person getting money from in order to bet? Maybe from charity, wellfare programs or freelances?
If so, the money should be used for basic expenses, to invest in personal educational development, or to start a small retail business, so it can become a regular source of income later. But if the person is spending everything into gambling, it's likely he is never going to improve his life standards, unless he is very lucky to hit a jackpot once in a lifetime and then become a millionaire or billionaire suddenly. I believe that is what these gamblers dream about, so they keep insisting on this practice, even though they should be more responsible and stick themselves to more solid and concrete goals.
However, this idea isn't encouraging for them, because it demands effort, hard work and time, while in gambling the promises of easy, instant and abundant money are more tempting, even if they are never going to work...