Supposing the total gains will be spread around (8)
I believe the answer is:
assuming
'supposing' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'total gains will be spread around' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'total' could be 'sum' (synonyms) and 'sum' is located in the answer.
an anagram of 'gains' is 'asing' which is located in the remaining letters.
This accounts for all the letters.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
'the' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for assuming that I've seen before include "Presupposing" , "Based on the supposition" , "Taking on - arrogant" , "Taking as true" , "Presumptuous, arrogant" .)