Quicken Loans Inc. founder Dan Gilbert is looking to exit the casino business, including properties in Cleveland, Cincinnati and Detroit, according to people familiar with his plans.

Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse are representing Gilbert's casino company in the sale process, and Las Vegas-based Caesars Entertainment Corp. is among the possible bidders that have expressed interest in some properties, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. Representatives for both banks and Caesars declined to comment.

"It is Jack Entertainment's long-standing policy to not comment on rumors or speculation," the company said in a statement Wednesday.

Gilbert, a billionaire who also owns the Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team, began eyeing gambling as part of a strategy to revive struggling downtowns in older U.S. cities. He backed a 2009 ballot measure to legalize casinos in Ohio and opened his first property in the historic Higbee's department store building in downtown Cleveland three years later.

Jack Entertainment LLC, based in Detroit, has interests in six casinos and racetracks, including Jack casinos in Ohio and the Greektown Casino-Hotel in Detroit, which Gilbert acquired in 2013. The properties may be sold separately. He's worth an estimated $7.8 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.