I know, and I don't know why not ??  😞

I just had a look at the HTML links for my images currently in Photobucket.

The HTML code use to contain a direct link to the image stored on PB by default, now it just links to the beta version as you have discovered. This is a deliberate change, and I suspect because many people weren't aware that images linked back to their albums.

Good news is, you can make it so that it links to the image again.

Sign in, got to the dropdown menu under your user name, and click User Settings > Albums tab. The last option (under easy linking mode) is Link Back Option - make sure that is checked, and the HTML code will go back to containing a link to your image.