Hey teacher, let me have fun!

I personally don't know what's exactly happening in the mind of educators, professors, teachers to forget about games as learning method when kids turn 9 or 10 years old? Do they fear being ridiculous in front of kids who are "now mature enough to learn in a serious way"? Or do they just ignore how efficient games can be to reach a certain learning tension?
Whatever the reason may be, it seems we have all evolved in a world where games are associated with leisure, thus not serious, thus not for educational purpose. As if learning had to be a terrific ordeal through which we all had ("when we were young") to go, having as motivator the ever encouraging sentence "No pain no gain".
Well, I do believe (among other things) in education as a painless process; I do believe in learning methods where fun can take a great part of the action; and I do believe in games (online or off-line) as a learning instrument for kids and adults.
Do I speak the almighty truth? Certainly not! Do I have a team of scientists behind me confirming my sayings? Absolutely not! My fields of expertise are called "the Internet" and "professional experiences" and my research are...well, I am not searching for anything; I am just playing in a labyrinth with no objectives but learning and having fun.