If Dan Gilbert sells off all of his casino and gambling interests, that could clear the way for him to buy the Detroit Tigers — but only if he's interested and only if they're for sale.

Major League Baseball forbids its team owners from having any stake in wagering operations, and Gilbert would be free of that restriction if he divests himself of his Detroit-based Jack Entertainment LLC that includes six casinos and racetracks, a move that a Bloomberg report on Thursday said was under consideration.

Matt Cullen, CEO and principal at Gilbert's Rock Ventures LLC and one of his top lieutenants, had no comment when asked by Crain's if the Quicken Loans Inc. founder and Detroit real estate billionaire has any interest in the Tigers.

As for the owners of the Tigers, they reiterated their long-standing commitment to own the team, which is one anchor in the $2.1 billion District Detroit project they've been building downtown around Little Caesars Arena.

"The Ilitch family is committed to the long-term ownership of the Detroit Tigers," the family said via an emailed statement.

Little Caesars pizza chain co-founder Mike Ilitch bought the Tigers for $85 million in 1992 from Domino's Pizza founder Tom Monaghan. Ilitch died at age 87 in 2017, and control of the team, via a trust, passed to son Chris Ilitch.

There's been speculation that the family might sell the Tigers after Mike Ilitch's death because they appeared to be more his passion — he played for them as a minor-leaguer in the 1950s — while the rest of the family, especially wife Marian Ilitch, seemed to be bigger fans of the Detroit Red Wings. Mike and Marian Ilitch bought the hockey team for $8 million in 1982 and have since financed their way to four Stanley Cup championships.

Because Marian Ilitch, 85, owns MotorCity Hotel Casino, she's forbidden from owning the Tigers. Her role with the team was the subject of a 2006 New York Times story that questioned whether she was a co-owner of the team or not, with the Ilitches saying she never was.

The family has repeatedly said they intend to keep the team — which will be true until plans change.

The Tigers were most recently valued by Forbes at $1.225 billion. However, a team's true value is what a buyer is willing to pay, and what a seller is willing to take.

The team's books are a secret but Forbes estimated the Tigers lost $46 million in 2017. The financial news site estimated that the Tigers have lost money in seven of the past 10 seasons, which mirrors the era of large-market player payroll spending by the team's ownership. Last season, Detroit spent a franchise-record $200-plus million on players, but cut $70 million-plus this year as part of a rebuilding project.

The Tigers and Ilitches don't comment on their finances. If the team is siphoning cash from other parts of the Ilitches' $3.6 billion business empire, that could be motivation to sell — to the right buyer.

One potential snag for any sale: A public records search by Crain's in 2015 showed that Mike Ilitch heavily leveraged the Tigers and their revenue streams as collateral for business deals. Sale of the team would have to resolve those financial ties.

Gilbert, said to worth $7.6 billion by Forbes, is best known locally for his ownership of online mortgage lender Quicken Loans, but perhaps is more widely known as owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers. He headed an investment group that bought the team from Gordon Gund for $375 million in 2005. They won the 2016 NBA championship, Cleveland's first title in any pro sport since 1964. However, Gilbert lost superstar player LeBron James to the L.A. Lakers in free agency this offseason.

Gilbert's sports team portfolio also includes the American Hockey League's Lake Erie Monsters and the Arena Football League's Cleveland Gladiators. Both are tenants at publicly-owned Quicken Loans Arena with the Cavs. The Gladiators are idled while the AFL sorts out its finances.

Gilbert, 56, has expressed interest in the past about buying a baseball team. In 2004, the Milwaukee Brewers were for sale and Gilbert bid on the team. The Brewers were owned at the time by the family of then-Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig. A car dealership owner and former co-owner of the Milwaukee Braves (now in Atlanta), Selig had bought the bankrupt Seattle Pilots one year after their 1969 founding for $10.8 million and relocated them to Milwaukee in 1970.

Selig stepped away from the team when he became full-time commissioner in 1998 and the family opted to sell the team a few years later.

The amount of Gilbert's bid to buy the Brewers wasn't disclosed. The Selig family opted to sell the team to Mark Attanasio, founder of Dallas-based investment firm Crescent Capital Partners, for $200 million.

Gilbert publicly aired his disappointment over the decision at the time.

"I am deeply disappointed that the Brewers have chosen another direction in the sale of the club," he said in a statement at the time. "After nearly eight long months of negotiations, I believed we were on the verge of announcing a deal when I was informed of the Brewers' decision to sell the team to another party."

Gilbert's gambling holdings include Greektown Casino-Hotel in Detroit, which he bought in 2013.