Zheng Dexing died on March 9. The college student from Henan province committed suicide after accumulating loans worth 589,500 yuan ($91,000) to pay for his gambling addiction.

Yang Bo, a junior in Southwest China's Guizhou Normal University, wanted to go on vacation to Guangdong province, so he resorted to a loan of 5,000 yuan.

"The loan makes it a lot easier to travel," Yang said. "I just pay 500 yuan or so monthly to pay it back."