You nailed the reason for why they do it: hoping to get a penalty call.

Presumably the drama is to sell it, maybe they think it makes the call more likely.

I've had the same question about why they don't end it. It makes the sport into a joke in the eyes of many potential fans. It would be very easy to eliminate. When I reffed kids traveling teams, an obvious fake like that was instantly a red card, therefore it almost never happened.