From:
http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/CDServer-HOWTO/addloops.html
3.1. Adding the Loop Module Option
Current kernels allow you to set the number of loop devices supported without recompiling the kernel. One of these methods is to add an options line to /etc/modules.conf. This method will only work if your loop support has been configured as a loadable kernel module (which is how most major Linux distributions come preconfigured now).
Edit /etc/modules.conf and add the following line.
options loop max_loop=64
After making the above change, simply reboot. Or you can try to use rmmod and insmod to make the change on the fly - but this will not work if you currently have any loop devices mounted (you'll get an error saying loop: Device or resource busy).