The government said on Thursday that a new sports venue online booking system had encountered log-in issues because it couldn't cope with a surge in demand.

The administration apologised for any inconvenience caused.

The SmartPLAY app was launched at 7am and some users complained they couldn't connect, or received error messages for hours on end.

The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) said some 200,000 people were trying to log in at first, compared to several thousand on an average day.

A spokesperson said some settings of the new system couldn't cope with the surge and this caused delays and error messages. It also took longer than usual for people to receive payment confirmation messages.

Browsing time was longer than normal because people needed to get used to the new interface, the spokesperson said.

The department said it asked the contractor involved to change the settings and the system gradually improved from 7:45am onwards. More than 10,000 people successfully made bookings, it added.

The LCSD said it will closely monitor the system's operation and will follow up on problems for individual users, including those involving payments.