I wouldn't underestimate cultural changes too. The old American WASP culture that dominated the prestigious corners of the academy up until a generation or two ago was very big on honor codes and they were largely adhered to including for things like take home tests. Now it appears everybody, including the descendants of the people who used to take honor codes seriously, considers them to be for chumps and will take any angle that they can.

At the end of the day, cheating is a cultural problem and not a technological one. Technology might make cheating easier or help to expose it, but it will never prevent it. As you say, it just becomes a game when you try. Fortunately, people can be taught to change their culture for the better, so it's not as if it's hopeless.