JD Wetherspoon is to lobby the Office of Fair Trading amid fears that rival operators plan to introduce "minimum pricing" cartels.
The no-frills pub group is worried that the unofficial agreements, which claim to curb binge-drinking, will blunt its competitive edge.
A spokesman for Wetherspoon's said: "The vast majority of these schemes are led by publicans, not the police. There is very little connection between the price of drink and bad behaviour. These are basically cartels that penalise people on low incomes."