This led to even more edicts, enforcement, and penalties, where the government set certain days and times of the day for it to be allowed. This, however, still proved difficult to control due to its prevalence, and was significantly decriminalized later on when the government opened the country to foreign trade and overseas markets due to the need for internal sources of revenue. This carried on until the American occupation. Like the Spaniards, the Americans initially tried to ban gambling, but later on, betting was re-introduced around 1912. American insular authorities then decided that gambling cannot be controlled, and it was better to earn funds from this than to prohibit it. Institutionalized gambling for charitable purposes began in the 1930s, where horse racing was allowed for the benefit of the Philippine Athletic Amateur Federation (now the Philippine Olympic Committee), and since then only civic associations were allowed to hold horse races for fundraising. These were controlled by the organization called the National Charity Sweepstakes. Legislation in the country then changed around mid-1930s to institutionalize the sweepstakes in order to raise funds to promote public health and general welfare. National Charity Sweepstakes was then changed to Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO). After the colonial period, the Philippine government took responsibility in overseeing gambling activities in the country. In 1976, during the Martial Law Era, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) was created by the government to regulate the ten gaming casinos that existed before the pre-EDSA era. The agency aimed for government regulation and centralization of all games of chance under existing franchises or permitted by law. By 1985, the coverage and privileges of PAGCOR were expanded, and the agency and casinos were constantly improved unto the 1990s. Bingo and the lottery had also been developed under PAGCOR. Within the 20th century, PAGCOR experienced both dips and hikes in income growth rate, which mostly depended on the visits of foreign big-time players, but was also largely affected by the Asian financial crisis in 1997. During dips in income growth rate, the agency would increase efforts by branching out to new ventures such as Bingo and Jai Alai. Since then, various forms of gambling have been introduced and improved, and continues to spread and prevail all over the country. Recently, because President Rodrigo Duterte has initiated to mend the relations between the Philippines and China, Chinese visitors in the country are expected to increase, and this possibly attracts more investments. This puts the Philippines in competition with Macau and Singapore to become a gambling hub that targets Asia's rising middle class.