Pennsylvania might — or might not — be on track to meet money projections for 2017-18 and 2018-19 tied to the major gambling expansion approved by the Legislature last October.

But even if the goals for those two fiscal years are met, an important question will continue to be whether revenue projections will meet or exceed exxpectations over the longer term for this financially hard-pressed state.

The concerns about gambling over-saturation remain, as do the negative impacts of gambling competition from neighboring states — as well as the unceasing allure of the gambling mecca Las Vegas, Nev., where many Pennsylvania residents look forward to attending top-notch shows and seeing other big attractions in addition to gambling.

Overall, Pennsylvania’s casinos are at a disadvantage on the “big attractions” front.

Then there is the fact that people’s gambling money isn’t limitless, and that changes in people’s attitudes about parting with hard-earned cash via gambling could evolve over time, either by choice or by necessity, especially in those situations involving problem gambling.

The Pennsylvania Lottery is suffering to some degree as a result of the in-state casinos that already exist, and that same impact is likely to become even more deeply felt as the full menu of the gambling expansion is put in motion — mini-casinos, casino internet gambling, truck stop video gaming terminals and fantasy sports betting.

But sitting in the spotlight at this time are the mini-casino auctions, four of which have generated $124 million of the $200 million incoming-revenue target figure lawmakers set last October, as well as a fifth auction that failed to attract any bids.

About that fifth auction: The lack of bids is triggering what’s being referred to as a “subsequent round” of bidding that will kick off on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, in a March 5 report by the online news and information service Capitolwire, Kevin O’Toole, executive director of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, was careful to say that the board doesn’t know if it will receive bids for all of the authorized 10 mini-casinos.

Besides the $124 million expected from mini-casino bid awards to date, the state is getting $24.5 million from a table games license granted to a Philadelphia casino,

$10 million is coming from repayment of casino loans, and one existing casino has paid $1 million to lift patron access restrictions.

The numbers add up to the fact that the state apparently is $40.5 million short of reaching this fiscal year’s $200 million target figure.

Getting the additional 2017-18 money isn’t guaranteed if not all of the 10 mini-casino auctions prove successful — or if it takes much longer than expected to get bidders.

Then there’s the issue of flawed planning.

In February, the gaming board had to invalidate a bid when it was discovered that the geographical coordinates for a location in Mercer County fell within the reserved area for a New Castle location bid.

Pennsylvania’s gambling appetite can be characterized as insatiable, but gambling isn’t a reliable bet in terms of healing the commonwealth’s deep-seated fiscal ills.

It’s shameful that many more state officials aren’t coming to grips with that.