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 understand how this works, but
'total' could be 'sum' (synonyms) and 'sum' is found in the answer.
an anagram of 'gains' is 'asing' which is located in the remaining letters.
This accounts for all the letters.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'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" .)