Up to half of late night licences could go under plans to give licensing authorities the power to charge premises which open past midnight.
An annual levy of up to £4,480 could be imposed on large nightclubs that mainly sell alcohol to fund the additional policing costs.
The power, introduced in the Government's Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill, is aimed at tackling problem premises but could be introduced across entire local authorities.
Up to half of the pubs and clubs that currently open late are expected to amend their licences to avoid having to pay the levy when it is introduced, an impact assessment released by the Home Office found.
The move is expected to bring in between £9 million and £15 million as around 50%-75% of the 24,111 late-opening premises choose to pay the levy - between 12,000 and 18,100 premises.
