# United States and Canada

> STX runs two separate exchanges under different regulators. Which one you integrate with changes almost everything.

Source: https://docs.stxapp.io/concepts/us-and-canada/

STX operates **two separate exchanges**. They share an API shape, but they are
different products, in different jurisdictions, under different regulators.
Accounts, balances, markets and API keys do not carry across.

Decide which one you are building for before you write any code, it determines
your base URL, what your users can legally do, and whether you can go live at all
today.

| | Canada (Ontario) | United States |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Status | **Live** | **Launching soon.** Start integrating on `demo.stxapp.io` |
| Regulator | Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario | U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (application pending) |
| Minimum age | 19 | 18, and the age of majority where you live |
| Demo host | `demo.stxapp.ca` | `demo.stxapp.io` |
| Production host | `api.on.stxapp.ca` | Not announced |

## Canada

STX is licensed in the province of Ontario by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of
Ontario to provide Internet sports betting services. Persons under 19 are not
permitted to engage in online sports wagering in Ontario.

This exchange is live and taking real money in production. If you are building
something users will trade on today, this is the one.

:::note[Responsible gambling]
If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call Connex
Ontario at **1-866-531-2600**.
:::

## United States

**STX is not yet open for trading in the United States.** XV Exchange, LLC has
applied to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission for designation as a
contract market. That application is pending, and no assurance can be given that
it will be approved.

What this means for you as an integrator:

- `demo.stxapp.io` is a fully working demo environment. The API is real,
  the order books are real, and everything in these docs works against it.
- Start integrating now. The demo runs the same API as production, so an
  integration built on `demo.stxapp.io` moves over by changing the host and the key.
- Nothing in these docs is an offer, solicitation, or recommendation to trade.

## Which host should I use?

If you are exploring the API, reading the docs, or building a client library:
**`demo.stxapp.io`**. Every example in these docs uses it.

If you are integrating with the live Canadian exchange: start on
`demo.stxapp.ca`, then move to `api.on.stxapp.ca` once your integration is
exercised end to end. Production needs its own API key, created at `stxapp.ca`;
demo keys do not work there.

Full list with current status: [Environments](/environments/).

## What is the same

The API surface itself. Request signing, the REST endpoints, the WebSocket
channels, the order model and the response shapes are identical across both. A
client written against one works against the other by changing the base URL and
using a key issued by that exchange.