Contracts made while taking in a card game (8)
I believe the answer is:
abridges
'contracts' is the definition.
('abridge' can be a synonym of 'contract')
'while taking in a card game' is the wordplay.
'while' becomes 'as' (eg 'while I walked' means 'as I walked').
'taking in' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'a card game' becomes 'bridge' (bridge is a kind of card game).
'as' placed around 'bridge' is 'ABRIDGES'.
'made' is the link.
(Other definitions for abridges that I've seen before include "Makes short work of" , "Shortens" .)