Since when is this always true? I have been in video arcades where there are rules prominently posted. Among these rules include no smoking, no food or drinks allowed on the games, no alcohol in the place, no foul language, and no banging on the games. Those rules were moderately strictly enforced--you might get away with swearing a time or two, but after repeated warnings they would kick you out of the place. For sure, that was no drug infested parlor.
As for most arcades being places of debauchery, they are no worse than the corner stores in the same neighborhoods. If you are in a bad neighborhood, a video arcade there is likely to become a place where people use drugs, gamble, and rob and steal--as is the corner store. However, if you are in a suburban mall, the arcades are places where you can play a few video games. They have different tolerance levels for things like swearing, putting food and drink on the games, and using alcohol in the game room. At college, these things were freely allowed (yet, the places were quite safe). I have seen people bang on the games, but that is better than banging on the gas pedal in your car because you get cut off at an intersection.
What they really want is for people to be out in field circus all the time. I don't think most arcade users would resort to habitually stealing just to play the games. Nor do children habitually skip school and hang out at the arcade, except that they might otherwise hang out at the corner store smoking weed and drinking. When I was in college, I thought of myself as a "heavy user" of video games--and, in fact, I have gotten 6-figure scores and up on several different video games. Yet, I never stole just to play video games. I never resorted to initiating anything illegal just to get free games (things like using slugs, putting wires into the coin slot, breaking into the machine to put 99 credits on it, etc.) Nor did I ever cut classes (in college, where you could get away with it) just to play Centipede or Defender. True, I didn't like losing--especially when it was because of a program glitch or the buttons didn't work properly. However, I never smoked on the games (or elsewhere, for that matter), put beer on the games (again, I never drank that stuff), or habitually abused the games. I remembered that, if I bang on the game and bust it, it would work even worse next time.
However, I would not advise skipping your video game fix for field circus or a boasting session.