Mansion first came to public attention earlier this year when it entered discussions with Manchester United over the club's coveted shirt sponsorship. United pulled out of the deal, but just two weeks later, 56-year-old Kinsman had agreed a record £34m four-year sponsorship with rival Tottenham Hotspur.
A no-nonsense Aussie, Kinsman's attitude to business is illustrated by his decision to reveal details of the collapsed Manchester United deal to the press. 'We have a simple view. Our word is our bond, you shake on it and that is it. After the Manchester United episode, we felt we had an obligation to explain who we are and what we were doing.'
The headlines it created didn't hurt either. And he doesn't bear grudges - he says he is looking forward to sharing a beer with United directors after Spurs meet them this season.
Mansion's sponsorship of Tottenham is the first step in its brand-building programme and Kinsman is keen to impress that his company has more to offer than just cash. 'I now have 34m reasons to be a Tottenham supporter,' he jokes. 'But we also have a responsibility to the club and its fans.' He is looking forward to breaking the sponsorship mould with the team, and is planning talks with Puma, Tottenham's kit supplier, about possible opportunities.
Online gaming companies have made sudden and considerable inroads in sports sponsorship over the past year and, according to a World Sponsorship Monitor report, the sector is now the fastest growing in the sports sponsorship arena.
Though Mansion fleetingly toyed with the idea of sponsoring a team from Spain's La Liga, Kinsman believes the English Premier League was always the obvious choice. 'Football is very tribal in Spain. If you support one team, you risk alienating other people,' he says. 'English football has much wider appeal - I was in China on the final day of last season and there were about 25m people watching Tottenham play West Ham at about three in the morning.'
Kinsman's ambitions for Mansion do not stop at football sponsorship. He believes the company's future lies in the convergence of its online offering and its poker centres. By the end of 2007, he hopes that the firm, which is now expanding into Russia and China, will be running at least four such centres in the UK, including one in London as well as a sports betting and exchange fixture at Tottenham's White Hart Lane stadium.
Poker is one of Mansion's most important divisions and, not surprisingly, Kinsman is a keen player. 'Poker has got everything - willpower and strategy,' he says. 'I could never beat Tiger Woods at golf, but anyone on any given day can win at poker.'
Living in Gibraltar, the gaming capital of the world, also allows Kinsman the chance to improve his golf handicap on the island's many courses.
A former ad man in Australia, his career reflects the entrepreneurial spirit that is propelling him through the dynamic world of gaming. He ran his own ad agency in the 70s before setting up a manufacturer of luxury cruisers.
With its rapid growth and increasing visibility among consumers, the gaming industry seems a suitable platform for Kinsman's undiminished ambitions.
He intends for Mansion to send shockwaves throughout the gaming community and issues a warning to rivals, who he believes have gorged themselves on big margins for too long. 'We offer the best value,' he says. 'Our odds go up first on a Monday morning and set the stall for the rest of the world. We are going to shake up the bookie business.'
CAREER HISTORY
1970-1973: Senior account executive, Hansen Rubensohn-McCann Erickson
1973-1976: General manager and director, Clemenger Aston Advertising
1976-1980: Managing director and founder, David Kinsman Advertising
1981-1989: Managing director and chief executive, Ranger Marine
Australia
1990-1993: Senior vice-president, Weyland Group, Germany
1993-1996: General manager, Olympic Video Gaming
1997-1998: General manager operations, Video Gaming Machines
1999-2004: Chief executive officer, Online Gaming Systems Australia
2004-present: Chief operating officer, Mansion
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