The NY Post reported over the weekend that there is billion dollar bribe offer on the table between the Department of Justice and PartyGaming Plc to buy Party out of trouble for its previous history of accepting wagers online prior to the passage of the UIGEA in 2006.

Is it just me that finds this story completely wrong on so many levels?

Where do I start?

If online gambling wasn't officially illegal before 1996, then why should Party have to pay anything?

If indeed it WAS illegal, then why should Party be able to buy itself out of jail when nobody else has been allowed this treatment?

Were they even charged with anything, or is this just a billion dollar shakedown by the American government?

Why would Party even care to make this deal if they weren't given assurances that they would eventually be allowed back into the American market somehow - even if it is some kind of merger? So exactly what circumstances are going to change, and when?

If Party pays this price, are both sides setting a legal precedent for every "illegal" operation to potentially buy their way out of jail?

Was BetOnSports offered a similar deal before the founders were arrested? If not, why not?

This whole situation reeks of the worst kind of rule-bending that can only happen when the American government gets cozy with rich businesses.

On the other hand, it could signal a change in the American government's attitude towards online gambling.