Crossword Genius

The gambler's boat? (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

punt

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'boat?' is the definition.
(type of boat)

'the gambler's' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'pun' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for punt that I've seen before include "Flat boat for Irish money" , "Pre-euro currency unit of Ireland" , "Flat-bottomed boat propelled by pole" , "Open flat-bottomed boat" , "gambling" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish News.
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