INTRODUCTION: The prevalence of Irish adolescent gambling is increasing with one quarter of 15-18-year-olds gambling at least once a year. There is little research on Irish adolescent gambling and teacher awareness thereof and this study aimed to fill this gap.

METHODS: Eighty-eight teachers in Ireland answered questions regarding their awareness and attitudes about adolescent gambling. Teachers were asked about their perception of the severity of gambling compared to other adolescent issues, their confidence in addressing gambling and the frequency of conversations about gambling with students.

RESULTS: Logistic regression and Cochran's-Q test of association results show that Irish teachers were likely to view adolescent gambling as significantly less serious of an issue compared to other adolescent high-risk behaviors. Teachers were significantly less likely to converse frequently with students about gambling in comparison to other high-risk behaviors, were significantly less confident in their abilities to address student gambling problems when compared to discussing adolescent alcohol problems, and perceived gambling behavior as less problematic than other risky behaviors. Most teachers reported that their school either did not have, or they did not know of, any form of gambling prevention programme within the school.

CONCLUSIONS: Irish teachers show moderate awareness of adolescent gambling, with higher accuracy than UK counterparts in identifying problem gambling among younger cohorts. However, low confidence, limited training, and scarce prevention programmes highlight gaps in addressing this issue. Collaboration with external organisations and curriculum enhancements are essential to foster prevention and support student well-being.